W-ir^'j" X'*^^*<^ W'^-^^'J" "^c> -?!???' <v^ 









"•\'«-^'' V'^'^'V ^V'^^'V^^ '^'^<?^**^'^*'ao' "^^^ *« 




• ^^ 
















/\!i;i^^\ 0^-^^%"- j'^'j^:ii^^\ y^mk 













"6. *rr-.-' ^0 'v. * 







Vc^'^^ 









L^ 



'-f 



^c 



~% 




DoRox (;reen. 



History of Bristol Borough 



County of Bucks, State of Pennsylvania 



ANCIENTLY KNOWN AS 



BUCKINGHAM" 



BEING THK 



Third Oldest Town and Second Chartered 
Borough 

IN 

PENNSYLVANIA 

From Its Earliest Times to the Present Year 

1911 

^y DORON GREEN 
Bristol, Pa. 



C. S. Macjrath, Camokn, N, 







5 3 '3 .^(, 







WILLIAM V. LEECH. 
President Bristol Public School Board. 



t 






T'/i/i bool^ is respectfully 
dedicated to 

Mr. William V. Leech 

President of the 
Bristol Public School Board 

Through whose encouragement and kindly assistance 
this Work 's published 



INTRODUCTION. 



To the Public : 

In presenting this work to the public, the writer hopes 
that its perusal by our many citizens may stimulate with- 
in the hearts of all, a greater interest in our town's de- 
velopment and a more earnest desire to promote its wel- 
fare. The collection of data covers a period of several 
years and was the outcome of an intense love for history, 
on the part of the writer. The collection began primarily, 
not with the object of publication, but simply as a scrap 
book of useful information. Several times it has served 
its purpose well. On one occasion a few months ago, the 
president of our local school board, Mr. William V. 
Leech, while examining the scrap book, was surprised at 
the information it contained, and suggested the expedi- 
ency of publishing its contents in book form, as an up- 
to-date history of Bristol. The writer consented, and 
after arranging the events in their chronological order, 
and collecting additional information to make a con- 
nected story, this work is the result. 

Most of the early history of the town has been taken 
from General Davis' History of Bucks County, and from 
the scrap book of the late William Kinsey. Additional 
information was obtained from Battles' History of Bucks 
County, and Bache's History of Bristol. Few of the 
younger generation realize what the town owes to Wm. 
Kinsey for the preservation of valuable data, relative to 
the early history of Bristol. It was his intense love of 
history, his unswerving devotion to the town, his splen- 
did memory, his cultured intellect, all combined with his 
facile pen, that has caused him to hand down to us, his 
posterity, information that will.prove of inestimable value 
as the years pass by. In many places in this work the 
writer has purposely mentioned Mr. Kinsey, as the foun- 
tain from which he drew his information, in order that 
succeeding generations may bestow proper credit where 



VI. INTRODUCTION. 

it is due. Information ha.s also been obtained from the 
columns of the Bucks County Gazette and the Weekly 
Courier. To Charles M. Foster, C. Wesley Milnor, Frank 
Woodington, Sr., Capt. Burnet Landreth, and Joseph H. 
Vanzant, the writer is also indebted for much valuable 
data. 

In concluding, the writer wants to say that this book is 
published without thought of financial reward or profit 
from its publication. The compiling of the data has been 
a labor of love, and if a perusal of its pages will create 
within the hearts of our citizens a greater love for their 
town, and cause the horizon of the future to glow with 
resplendent hopes of a happy, harmonious and prosper- 
ous community, the writer will feel fully and abundantly 
repaid for all his labors. 

Very truly, 

DORON GREEN. 



CONTENTS. 



Epoch I. Construction Period Pages 11-34 

Introduction. George Fox, an early English 
Traveler. Algonkin Indians. The Chil- 
dren of the Algonkin Indians. Early Settle- 
ments on the Delaware. Primitive Farming. 
The Early Settlers Lived Well. The Homes 
of the First Settlers. The Site of Bristol. 
The Ferry Against Burlington. Development 
of Roads. The King's Highway. Social 
Progress. A History of Burlington Island. 
The Coming of William Penn. Islands in 
the Delaware Below Bristol. The Town 
Plot Staked Out. Phineas Pemberton and 
James Harrison. First Postal System. 

Epoch II. The Market Town Pages 35-57 

Introduction. Bristol Mills. Samuel Car- 
penter. Bristol Court House. Cutler's 
Draft of Towm (1715).. An Old Landmark. 
The De Normandies. Old Records Lost. 
Bristol Society of Friends. St. James' Pro- 
testant Episcopal Church. St. James' 
Graveyard. 

Epoch HI. Bristol Becomes a Borough Pages 58-84 

Introduction. Election of Borough Officers. 
The Town Meeting. Borough Taxes. Bris- 
tol Visited by a Great Fire. Daniel Boone 
Born in Bristol Township. The Golden Age. 
House of Correction. The First Stage 
Wagons. Rev. George Whitefield Visits 
Bristol. Bristol Hotels. The Fairs. Bris- 
tol in 1748. Improved Style in Living. Wil- 
liam Mcllvaine and Alexander Graydon. 
Bristol College. His Majesty's Troops Visit 
Bristol. George the Second now Delaware 
House. Charles Bessonett. Market House. 
A Distinguished Friend. Anti-Revolution- 
ary Houses. Repairs to Streets. Bristol 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Epoch IV. The Period of the Revolution Pages 85-100 

Introduction. Society of Friends Against 
the War. Bristolians Captured at Fort 



Vlll. CONTENTS. 

Washington. Prisoners of War Held at 
Bristol. Washington Decides to Retreat. 
The Continental Army Enters Bucks County. 
General Cadwalader's Army Encamped at 
Bristol. Washington Plans to Attack Hes- 
sians at Trenton. The Destiny of the Coun- 
try' Hung by a Single Thread. The Battle 
of Trenton. Camp of Instruction at Bristol. 
Continental Army Again Enters Bucks 
County. Lafayette Wounded Brought to 
Bristol. Bristol Captured by the British. 
French and American Armies Pass Through 
Bristol. Bristol Lodge No, 25, F. A. M. ' 

Epoch V. Bristol a Fashionable Watering Place. ... 101-143 

Introduction. A Famous Seed Producing 
Establishment. Charter Obtained From 
State. Ship Building Industry. History of 
Early Steamboating on the River Delaware 
above Philadelphia. An Interesting Record. 
First Post Office in Bucks County. The 
Badger Fishery. Story of a Duel. A Whis- 
key Story. Bloomsdale Ferry Lane. Bela 
Badger. The Celebrated Bath Springs' 
House. The First Sunday School. 
Bristol's Old Time People. A Queer 
Custom. A House With a History. Dick 
Shad, the Runaway Slave. The Farmers' 
National .Bank. First Woolen Mill. Sime 
Ento, the Spanish Minister. Bristolians in 
War of 1812. Jones' Shipyard. Joseph Bona- 
parte, ex-King of Spain. Major Lenox and 
the Keene Mansion. Lafayette's Visit. A 
Tale of the Stage Coach Days. Rowland 
Stephenson. 

Epoch VI. Bristol a Coalport Town Pages 144-210 

History of the Canal. The Town Hall. The 
First Railroad. The First Public School. 
Board and First School House. Colored 
Children's Right to Attend the Public 
Schools Questioned by Townspeople. St. 
Mark's Roman Catholic Church. Presby- 
terian Church. Bethel A. M. E. Church. 
Silk Worm Industry. History of the First 
Baptist Church. Bristol Newspapers. 
Downing's Flour Mill. Pleasing Reminis- 
censes by C. Wesley Milnor. Bristol's 
Forges. Landreth's Machine Shop. The 
Temperance War. A History of Bristol's 
Physicians Down to 1854. Charles Burleigh, 
the Abolitionist, Denied the Right of Free 



CONTENTS. IX. 

Speech. Public School No. 2. Bristol Fire 
Company No. i. Washington Hall. Build- 
ing Associations. A New Charter Obtained 
For the Borough. The Bristol Gas Light 
Company. Bristol in 1853. Disastrous Fire, 
How it Was Fought. A Singular Accident. 
County Elections. Caleb N. Taylor, of Bris- 
tol Township, Only Delegate From Pennsyl- 
vania Who Voted for Abraham Lincoln, in 
the Republican National Convention of i860. 

Epoch VH. Period of the Civil War Pages 211-238 

Lincoln Greeted by Bristolians. A Bristol 
Girl Unfurls First Confederate Flag. Bris- 
tol's Patriotism at Sumter's Fall. Young 
America Aroused. Patriotic Enthusiasm. 
Sword Presentation. The Montgomery 
Guards Inspected. Bristol's Three Military 
Companies. The Ladies' Aid Society of St. 
James' P. E. Church. Captain Henry Clay 
Beatty. Commissioned Officers in Civil War. 
Terrible Railroad Accident. Robert Tyler. 
A Whale in the Delaware at Bristol. Death 
of Dr. John Phillips. Bristol Woolen Mill 
Company. 

Epoch VIIL Bristol a Manufacturing Town Pages 239-323 

Introduction. Industrial Progress. Joseph 
Ridgway Grundy. Bud Noble, the World Re- 
nowned Horse Trainer and Jockey. Bristol 
Water Company. Buckley Street Mission Sun- 
day School. America Hose, Hook and Ladder 
Co. No. 2. A Fruit Preserving Establish- 
ment. Reminiscences of 1875-1880. The 
Clark Insulated Wire Company. Washing- 
ton Street School House. An Exciting Elec- 
tion ; Ballot Box Stolen. The Providence 
Knitting Company. Bath Street Public 
School. A Republican Wigwam. Memor- 
able Freshet and Ice Gorge. The Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad Changes its Course. Open- 
ing of the Streets. The Roller Skating 
Craze. A Memorable Blizzard. High 
School Building. St. Paul's P. E. Church. 
Organization of Eire Companies Nos. 3, 4 
and 5. Borough Fire Department Organ- 
ized._ Death of Matilda Swift Booz. Miss 
Louise D. Baggs Elected Superintendent. 
Revolutionary Skeletons LTnearthed, 1903. B. 
Franklin Gilkeson. Death of John K. Wild- 
man. Bristol Lodge No. 980 B. P. O. Elks. 



X. CONTENTS. 

Italian Presbyterian Evangelical ^Mission. 
Death of Hon. William Kinsey. St. 
.\nn'.s Italian Roman Catholic Church. 
The Grundy Medal. Jefferson Avenue 
School House. Governor Edwin S. Stuart 
Visits Bristol. Maggie Winder, a Phenome- 
nal Racing Filly. Lincoln Centennial Anniver- 
sary. Memorial Tablet Unveiled. The Penn- 
sylvania Railroad Company's New Roadbed. 
Railroad's New Concrete Bridges. Hal- 
ley's Comet. The First Airship to Pass 
Over Bristol. History of Radcliffe Street. 
Showing Increase in Po])ulation. Bristol's 
Oldest Citizen. 

Epoch IX. Bristol of Tod.w Pages 324-335 

Introduction. Unsurpassed Opportunities. 
Population Cosmopolitan. Manufacturing 
District. Well Supplied With Churches. 
Public Schools. Newspapers. Hotels. Div- 
ided Into Wards. Borough Government. Re- 
pairs to Streets. Banking Institutions. Post 
Office. Extension of Streets. Anchor 
Yacht Club. • Secret Societies. Social Clubs. 
Practicing Physicians. Drug Stores. Mov- 
ing Pictures. Burlington Island Park. Trol- 
ley Service. Grand Army of the Republic. 
Dawning of a New Bri-tol. 

Appendix. Pages 336-370 

Items from Diary of C. M. Foster. How 
Otter Street Received Its Name. The Bristol 
Library. How Radcliffe was Named. How 
St. James' P. E. Church E.xtended the Bound- 
aries of Its Land. More About the de Onis 
Marriage by Proxy. Description of the 
First Episcopal Church. The Beginning of 
the Public School System. A Whale in the 
Delaware. "Weston" Passes Through Bris- 
tol. Leasv's Point a Noted Place. More 
About the Willis (Buckley) House. Show- 
ing Dates of Ward Divisions. Bristol's Old- 
est Manufacturer. Bristol's Oldest Citizens. 
A Reference to the Vanzant Family. Earli- 
est Settlement in Bucks County. Showing 
the Origin of the African M. E. Church. Con- 
ductor William Bailey and "Bailey's Line." 
National Rivers and Harbors Committee 
Visits Bristol. More Reminiscences of By- 
Gone Days. Bristol Borough to Purchase 
Water Works. Borough Officers. 



EPOCH I. 

CONSTRUCTION PERIOD. 



From the Earliest Times, to 1697, the Chartering 
of the Market Town. 

Introduction.— "Among the earliest projects of our 
colonial predecessors, who settled on the lands bordering 
upon the Delaware river, was the selection of the more 
desirable sites for the erection of villages. One of these 
which claimed their first attention, was that upon the 
western bank of the Delaware, north of Neshaminy creek 
then called the town of Buckingham (Bristol), in the 
district of country then bearing the same name (now in 
the County of Bucks)." ***** 

"The beautiful and luxuriant sections of country on 
either side of the lovely Delaware, everywhere offered 
inviting inducements to the earlier settlers in selecting 
places and rearing their intended homesteads Their 
dwellings were chiefly built of heavy forest timber 
known as log cabins. At the lapse of about the first fif- 
teen years from its civil settlement, lands in the south- 
eastern portion of that section of country known as 
Buckingham (Bristol), skirting the Delaware, even before 
Jr^hiladelphia was designed and laid out, were eagerly 
taken up and settled upon, the patentees deriving their 
titles from Governor Andros. (See Watson's Annals, i. 
pp. 10, II.) And, indeed, strong expectations had been 
entertained, that the city of Philadelphia would have been 
founded at Buckingham, or Bristol; but their cherished 
hopes were overruled, mainly in consequence of the river 



12 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

navigation being more favorable to heavy shipping 
further down. There were some who even anticipated 
the erection of that city at Pennsbury, the favored home- 
stead of the Proprietor; others again at Byberry, then 
distinctly known as a 'Friends' ' settlement, which, 
indeed, appears for a time to have been once called 'Old 
Philadelphia." * * * * * 

"The success of the Pennsylvania colonial enterprise, 
which was equal to the most sanguine hopes of its illus- 
trious founder and law-giver; the 'unbroken chain of 
friendship' and confidence which was maintained, 'ever 
bright and untarnished,' between the colonists and the 
Indians, under the system of mutual concessions adopted 
by William Penn, operating more favorably than the 
unwise, if not unjust policy, of the neighboring colonies, 
especially that of Lord Baltimore, afforded perhaps, feel- 
ings of greater satisfaction and security from assault, on 
the part of settlers here. And on this account, it may 
be fairly surmised, it was in some measure, that lands 
in this immediate neighborhood, comprised within the 
tract then called Buckingham (Bristol), commanded their 
first attention. Besides, the supposition appears reason- 
able, that many, especially those embued with the 
religious sentiments of the Friends, should have cherished 
an inward desire to locate themselves in a near proximity 
to the favorite spot chosen as the manor of their good 
and great patriarch and founder."— (Bache's History of 
Bristol.) 

George Fox, an Early English Traveler.— One of the 
earliest English travelers down the Delaware was George 
Fox, the eminent Friend, in the fall of 1672, on his way 
from Long Island to Maryland. Starting from Middle- 
town harbor. New Jersey, he traveled through the woods, 
piloted by Indians, toward the Delaware. He reached the 
river the evening of the loth of September; stayed all 
night at the house of Peter Jegou, at Leasy Point, and 
the next morning crossed over to Burlington Island and 
then to the main land, just above Bristol. Himself and 
friends were taken over in Indian canoes, and the horses 
swam. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOI. BOROUGH. 13 

Algonkin Indians.— The Indian Tribes with which the 
whites first came in contact on the Delaware river, were 
radically different from those who occupied the interior, 
and at a later day became so conspicuous a figure in the 
annals of the province. They appear to have been inde- 
pendent tribes of the Algonkin family, living on the tribu- 
tary streams of the Delaware, probably a tribe in some 
parts, for every ten or twenty miles. Many of the names 
applied to these tribes appear to have been arbitrary 
designations derived from the aboriginal names given to 
the streams on which they dwelt, and few of them are met 
m the records and writings of later years. Thus Smith 
m his History of New Jersey, speaks of the Assumpinks! 
Kankokas, Mingo, Andostaka, Neshamine and Shacka- 
maxon tribes. Those about Burlington he calls the 
Mantas, probably the "Roodehoeks or Mantes" of the 
early Dutch adventurers and the authors of the massacre 
which extinguished De Vries's colony in 1631 "But these 
and others," says Smith, "were all of them distinguished 
from the back Indians, who were a more warlike people 
by the general name of Delawares." He notes also other 
tribes that had a wider reputation and occasionally "in- 
habited New Jersey and the first settled part of Pennsyl- 
vania." among which are the Monseys, the Pomptons 
the Senecas and the Maquaas. "The last was the most 
numerous and powerful." 

These more notable tribes represent the two great 
families of the Indian race which the earliest explorers 
found in possession of the vast region defined by the great 
lakes and the St. Lawrence on the north, and the Poto- 
mac and Chesapeake bay on the south. The Iroquois 
were the first to reach this region in the course of their 
traditional migration from the west, and settled in the 
lake district. Subsequently, the Leni Lenape, the great 
head of the Algonkin family, found their way hither, and 
fixed upon the Delaware river as their national centre 
Of this nation only three branches appear to have crossed 
the Alleghenies, of which the Turtles and the Turkeys 
continued their migration to the seaboard, where they 
planted their villages and remained until dispossessed by 
the whites. The Wolf branch, better known by their 



14 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

English name of the Monseys, planted itself at the "Mini- 
sinks," on the Delaware, extending the line of their villages 
on the east to the Hudson, and to the Susquehanna on 
the west. From this branch were derived the different 
tribes which occupy the foreground in the early annals 
of the pioneers. 

For a time the two great families lived on terms of 
friendly intercourse, but hostilities eventually broke out 
between them, which by means fair and foul, resulted in 
the humbling of the Delawares, as they were named by 
the English. How this was accomplished is differently 
related by the dominant and subject people It appears, 
however, that the Algonkins were at first successful and 
threatened the extinction of their rivals. This danger 
suggested the confederation of the Iroquois, a measure 
which these astute natives were wise enough to accom- 
plish, and from this period their power began to increase 
among the Indian nations. Dates in connection with the 
history of the North American aborigines are of the 
most uncertain character, and when the complete ascend- 
ency of the Iroquois was affected, and whether 
accomplished by force of arms or artifice, are still 
unsettled questions. 

At the time of William Penn's coming to America, the 
Iroquois exercised almost unquestioned authority over 
the aboriginal occupants of the country east of the Missis- 
sippi river, and as conquerors of the different tribes, 
claimed the absolute ownership of this vast territory. 
Until the coming of the Europeans they maintained their 
supremacy by a policy not unlike that of the Romans. 
Warlike tribes were divided and kept employed in further 
conquests or in reducing refractory nations, while all were 
placed under a close surveillance and some form of 
tribute. But when the whites established themselves 
upon the continent and demonstrated their power, many 
of the subject tribes were quick to perceive hoAV they 
might profit by their friendship. Emboldened by such 
alliances, some of the Algonkin tribes resisted the bound- 
less claims of the Iroquois, and much of the bloodshed 
and ravages of war inflicted upon the early settlements 
in all parts of the country resulted from a too general 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I5 

neglect of this change of attitude in the subject nations. 
Penn, fortunately wiser in this respect than many of his 
contemporaries, not only extinguished the claims of the 
dominant nation, but repeatedly purchased the rights of 
the native occupants and thus saved his colony from 
much of the harassing experiences which fell to the lot of 
less favored provinces. 

Happily, Bucks county was never called upon to resist 
the ravages of an Indian war in her own borders. At one 
time, when depredations seemed imminent, through the 
influence of the provincial authorities, Pennsylvania 
became a neutral zone between the Iroquois and southern 
Indians, and over which the hereditary foes traveled in 
quest of trophies. Neither of these antagonists fully 
respected the neutrality of the Delawares, and thus beset 
on all sides, these tribes began to meditate a revenge 
which would have involved the savages along the whole 
border. The settlements could not fail to suffer in such 
a contest, which might eventually have been directed 
chiefly against them. Through the efiforts of the gov- 
ernors of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New 
York, this threatened danger was averted, and at a meet- 
ing with the Indians, a new deed was executed, which 
released all the lands between the Delaware and Susque- 
hanna, and "from Duck creek to the mountains on this 
side of Lechay." — Battles' History of Bucks County. 

The Children of the Algonkin Indians. — The children 
were washed in cold water as soon as born, and to harden 
them they were plunged into the river. They could walk 
at about nine months. The boys fished until about fif- 
teen, when they began to hunt, and if they had given 
proof of their manhood by a large return of skins, they 
were allowed to marry, usually at about seventeen or 
eighteen. The girls remained with their mothers and 
helped to hoe the ground, plant corn and bear burdens. 
They married at about thirteen or fourteen. The homes 
of the Indians were made of mats or the bark of trees set 
upon poles not higher than a man, with grass or reeds 
spread on the ground to lie upon. The Indians lived 
chiefly on maize or Indian corn roasted in the ashes, 



l6 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL, BOROUGH. 

sometimes beaten and boiled with water, called hominy. 
They also ate beans and peas. The woods and the river 
furnished the greater part of their provisions. They ate 
but two meals a day, morning and evening. They 
mourned a whole year, but it was no other than blacking 
their faces. 

Early Settlements on the Delaware — In 1624 the Dutch 
sailed up the Delaware and erected a trading post near 
the site of Gloucester, N. J., which they dignified by 
naming Fort Nassaw. The Swedish West India Com- 
pany followed in 1638, with two vessels laden with 
Swedish colonists and supplies. They sailed up the bay 
and river to the mouth of a stream which they called 
Christina and proceeding up its course some three miles 
selected a site for a colony. In 1640 the English settled 
at Salem, N. J., but their trading post was burned by the 
Dutch and the people removed with no excess of gentle- 
ness. The Salem colony was subsequently driven off 
with tha approval of the Swedes, if not with their active 
co-operation. Then followed a period of unrest, during 
which the two nations, the Dutch and Swedes, struggled 
for supremacy. 

In 1664 the English sailed up the river, and with a 
superior force and little ceremony, brought the colonies 
under subjection. In 1673 hostilities broke out between 
England and Holland, and early in August, a Dutch fleet 
sailed into New York bay intent on conquest. New York 
surrendered without resistance, and on September 12, 
delegates from the Delaware settlements appeared in 
New York and made submission, and the Dutch were once 
more constructively in possession of their former domain 
in the "new world." The war closed in 1674 and the 
terms of peace stipulating for the return of all places 
captured during the hostilities, brought the colonies again 
in the possession of the English. 

During this period of conquest, the settlements were 
constantly pushing northward. In 1677 the Kent, with 
about two hundred and thirty souls on board, arrived at 
Newcastle and soon afterward, landed at Raccoon creek, 
in New Jersey. It was this company that, a little later 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I7 

in the same year, founded Burlington, the lots and streets 
being laid out by Richard Noble. In October the ship 
"Martha," with one hundred and fourteen emigrants, and 
in November the "Willing Mind," with sixty or seventy 
passengers arrived. All these were destined for the 
settlements east of the river and first landed there, though 
many subsequently removed to the other side. It was 
this year, which marks the advent of the first permanent 
settlement in the limits which now form the boundaries 
of Bucks county. 

Primitive Farming. — As the early history of Bristol 
and its people, is contiguous with the settlement of the 
county, we may therefore learn from the customs and 
habits of the earliest settlers, how the founders of Bristol 
lived in that ancient formative period of the town's 
history. 

For many years, while it was a question of bread for 
themselves and families, our Bucks county ancestors 
farmed in a primitive way. While the fathers and sons 
cleared the land and made the crops, the mothers and 
daughters attended to indoor work. They picked, carded 
and spun the wool for clothing, and swingled, hatcheled 
and spun the flax, quilted, and did many other things 
that fell to the lot of woman in the new country, besides 
frequently assisting the men in their farm work. The 
children of the first settlers were accustomed to hardship, 
and were noted for their strength and vigor. In that day 
there were few or no barns, the grain was stacked and 
threshed with the flail on the ground. Wheat was the 
main crop, which was carried a distance on horseback to 
mill through the woods along Indian paths. The horses 
traveled in trains, tied head and tail, like the pack mules 
among the Andes, with a man riding or leading the fore- 
most mule. Wheat was the only article for market until 
there was a demand in Philadelphia for butter, cheese 
and poultry. In 1720 most of the original tracts were 
settled, and to some extent improved. The farms were 
divided into large fields, and pretty well fenced. Low 
and swampy ground was always cleared for meadow, but 
the plow was seldom used to prepare new land. But 



l8 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH, 

little grass was raised for years, and then red and white 
clover were propagated to the exclusion of all other 
kinds. All their domestic animals were so badly housed 
and fed in winter that by spring they were almost in a 
starving condition. In the summer they lived in the 
woods, and in the spring were not infrequently lost in the 
bogs, hunting for early pasture. Cows were scarce and 
high for a number of years, selling for thirty or forty 
dollars a head when wheat was only thirty cents a bushel. 
The horses used for all purposes were of the "Wood" 
breed, raised from those brought originally from New 
England, gentle, hardy and easy keepers. The English 
horse introduced at a later day, was larger and more 
elegant in carriage. 

The Early Settlers Lived Well. — The early settlers 
lived well in their log cabins, as soon as the era of neces- 
sity had passed. They were both well-fed and well- 
clothed, but not in fine garments. The women manufac- 
tured the clothing of the family from wool and flax, and 
milk, butter and cheese became plenty for domestic use 
when fodder could be procured to keep stock through the 
winter. Hogs were raised and fattened, and the forest 
furnished game. Mush and milk were an universal dish. 
Pancakes, made of thin batter of flour and eggs and other 
ingredients, baked in a pan over the fire, were in every 
house. The housewife, or maid, prided herself on the 
dexterity with which she could turn the cake, by tossing 
it up the wide chimney and catching it in the pan again 
as it came down. But little tea and cofifee were drunk 
for the first seventy years, and they did not come into 
common use until between 1750 and 1760. At first they 
were only used by the wealthy, and that on Sunday. 
In their stead a tea was made of garden herbs, and a 
cofifee of rye and wheat burned to a brown. Children 
went barefooted half the year, and farmers through the 
summer. Indian meal was first exported to the West 
Indies, and wheat to France, about 1767, which stimu- 
lated their production. About this period potatoes began 
to be raised in quantities, and were fed to both cattle and 
hogs. The destructive Hessian fly made its appearance 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. I9 

about 1780, previous to which the wheat crop was seldom, 
if ever, known to fail. 

The Homes of the First Settlers. — The homes of the 
first settlers, upon the arrival of William Penn, while 
still plain, exhibited the mark of thrift. The Swedes still 
retained their log houses, with doors low and wide and 
chimneys placed in the corner of the structure, but here 
and there a planked ceiling and a glass window served to 
mark the improvement in taste and circumstances. The 
dwellings of the English were generally framed struc- 
tures covered with clapboards. A part of the material 
was brought from the "old country" by many emigrants, 
but the clapboards were the product of the new land, 
either riven out by hand or sawed at the mills already 
erected in the New Jersey settlements. These were com- 
monly put on green and subsequently shrunk, leaving 
openings a half inch wide. In the case of the "best 
people," a liberal application of clay served to keep the 
wind away, but added rather to the comfort than to the 
beauty of the building. Dutch coins and measures were 
still used in the common expression of values, social cus- 
toms bore the same stamp of conservatism, and the mixed 
population, slowly progressive, viewed innovations as an 
infringement of their privileges. 

The Site of Bristol. — In 1681 Samuel Clift, a recent 
emigrant to New Jersey, obtained from Sir Edmond 
Andros, Provincial Governor of New York, a grant for 
two hundred and sixty-two acres, covering the site of 
Bristol, and soon after became a resident here. The 
granting of the warrant for this tract of land, was con- 
tiguous with the date of the Proprietory Charter of 
Charles II, to the Founder of Pennsylvania (4th of 
March, 1681) ; and about four months prior to the condi- 
tions and agreements entered into between William Penn 
and the "adventurers and purchasers in the same 
province," July 1681). The brief recital of this grant of 
Governor Andros is for "a large tract of land lying on 
the Delaware river, at the mouth of Mill creek, and 
extending up said river and creek," etc., under which title 
the warrantee seated and improved the land. By deed 



20 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH, 



dated September 23, 1682, Samuel Clift devises this tract 
in fee simple to Joseph English. Clift died in 1684. 

The "Ferry Against Burlington." — Shortly after 
Samuel Clift became a resident of Pennsylvania (1681), 
he established the ferry between Bristol and Burlington. 
Upon his death in April, 1684, his executor, William 
Biles, leased the ferry-hous6 for two years to Michael 
Hurst. The ferry was recognized by the provincial coun- 
cil in 1709, upon petition of John Sotcher, who owned the 




I ICKKV-llOAT, WIIJJAAr K. HOKON^ (KJIi;. 



landing on the Pennsylvania side. The assembly of New 
Jersey passed a similar act in 1714. The first mention 
concerning it in the town records occurs in the minutes 
of a meeting held May 28, 1750, when a complaint was 
made that the public suffered "great inconvenience, and 
that, therefore, some measures for regulating the said 
ferry and preventing those inconveniences is of absolute 
necessity." It appeared that the sense of the meeting 
"without a dissenting voice," was that the ferry was the 
undoubted right of the corporation, which should there- 
fore receive possession from the tenant. The records 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 21 

further state: "Patrick O'Hanlan being called in and 
required to hold the same as a tenant under this corpora- 
tion has consented thereto and has agreed with this 
present town's meeting for the use thereof for one year 
commencing the first day of April past, at the rent of 
twelve pounds per annum." It would seem, from subse- 
quent devejopments that this arrangement was not 
advantageous to Mr. O'Hanlan. It appears that in Sep- 
tember, 1753, he was in debt for the rent of nearly two 
years. Ennion Williams, the borough treasurer, was 
directed to call upon him and compel payment, if neces- 
sary. O'Hanlan appeared before the council in person, 
and stated that his profits did not amount to six pounds 
in the past year. He was allowed an abatement; and 
that the business might be made more remunerative, the 
following schedule of rates was adopted : "Single foot 
passengers, six pence ; two persons at the same time, four 
pence, and three or more, three pence each ; a single horse 
and rider, one shilling, and any greater number, nine 
pence; a single ox, one shilling three pence, and any 
greater number, one shilling; sheep, two pence each, hogs 
(alive), six pence; dead, three pence; four-wheeled car- 
riages, with two horses and one person, five shillings ; 
two-wheeled carriages with a single horse and one per- 
son, two shillings and six pence" ; and in every case the 
rates were increased one-half after ten o'clock at night. 
This code of regulations remained in force under suc- 
cesive lessees for many years. 

[The writer asked Mr. Wm. E. Doron, the present 
owner, for some supplemental history, but was informed 
that all the old records were destroyed in a fire, which 
occurred a few years ago.] 

Development of Roads. — The "King's Path," authorized 
by an order of the early court in 1675, extended across 
the county, and subsequently the various settlements 
were probably connected with it by local ways of travel. 
In May, 1685, ^ road was ordered to be laid out "from 
Wrightstown to the ferry-house over against Burling- 
ton," and in 1688 the grand jury called attention to the 
necessity of a road "from the upper plantation above the 



22 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Falls of the Delaware to the landing over against Bur- 
lington." In the winter of 1691, "the necessity of a way 
from Newton to Burlington ferry," was suggested, but it 
was not until 1693 that it was laid out. Two years later 
the return of a road "from the upper plantations above 
Falls of the Delaware to the landing over against Bur- 
lington," was made. It was projected in 1688, but the 
unsettled character of the country delayed its completion, 
and when finally laid out was indicated by marked trees. 
In 1696 a road was laid out from the "mill dam in Buck- 
ingham (Bristol), to the common landing by the ferry 
house, in a straight line." These roads were scarcely 
more than bridal-paths, and it was not until 1695 that 
the term "cartways" was used in reference to the county 
roads, which probably indicates the period when wheeled 
vehicles were introduced in the county. The location of 
the ferry here at that early day was a prominent consider- 
ation in determining the terminal points of the various 
"ways." 

Thus will be seen the methods by which the roadways 
leading into Bristol were laid out. The ferry had much 
to do with the attraction of travel in this direction, in 
those early days, and a few years later was an important 
factor in the consideration of a site for the market town 
of Bristol. 

The King's Highway. — The road from Philadelphia to 
Morrisville, via Bristol, was ordered to be laid out by the 
Provincial Council, at a meeting held in Philadelphia, 
November 19, 1686. It was called the King's Highway, 
and was the first public road laid out that ran through 
Bucks County. Upon the bed of this road was built the 
Bristol and Frankford Turnpike, incorporated in 1803. 
The turnpike was commenced in 1804 and finished to 
Bristol in 1810, and completed to Morrisville in 1812, at 
a cost of $209,300. During the time the stage line from 
Philadelphia to New York ran over the road, it paid a 
ten per cent, dividend. 

The mile stones placed along the road had in addition 
to the figures placed upon them, the letter "T," so that 
travelers might know how many turnpike miles they 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 23 

had traveled. In General Davis' History of Bucks 
County, it is stated that the milestones were set up by 
an insurance company at a cost of thirty-three pounds. 
The distance by the King's Highway from Bristol to 
Market Street, Philadelphia, was twenty miles. 

It was originally intended to run the road on a straight 
line through the borough from Otter Creek bridge to the 
Bloomsdale ferry house, situate on the river bank, now 
owned by the heirs of David Landreth, opposite their 
seed farm. 

The proprietors of the "General Brown," "King of 
Prussia," "George the Second" and the "Cross Keys" 
hotels, whose public houses were located east of the pro- 
posed pike road, petitioned the borough council to 
appoint a committee to wait upon the directors of the 
road and request that a change in the line be made at 
the intersection of Otter and Mill Streets, so that the 
pike would run down Mill to Radcliffe street, thence to 
Hollow Creek, the hotels and principal business houses 
being located on these streets. 

The directors agreed to make the change, providing 
the borough would pay them $5,000, and build and keep 
in repair the culverts needed on the line through the 
borough. The borough council accepted the proposal 
and the council was charged to accommodate the owners 
of property on Mill and Radcliffe streets. 

Within the last year the Society of Colonial Dames 
has undertaken the task of preserving the old mile stones, 
which still remain along the course of the King's High- 
way. The only stone in Bristol stands at the corner of 
Radcliffe and Walnut streets, on the property now owned 
by Bristol Lodge, No. 970, B. P. O. E., and will be pro- 
tected and preserved by that society. 

Social Progress. — There is little upon which to base 
any estimate of the social progress of the county at this 
time, and especially so of that part east of the Poquessing 
Creek, but there is evidence which indicates the presence 
of the Swedish schoolmaster even among the most ad- 
vanced settlements, and a disposition on the part of the 
pioneers to avail themselves of his services. The com- 



24 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

munit}' east of the Poquessing, which included the site 
of Bristol, was not yet able to support a- place of worship 
in its midst. Those who preferred the established church, 
were obliged to resort to Wicaso, where a log fort had 
been fitted up as a place of worship, in 1677, for the 
Swedish congregation, over which the Rev. Jacob 
Fabrituis presided. The Falls settlement was generally 
composed of members of the Society of Friends. Their 
church business was conducted at Burlington, and they 
often went there to attend religious services, but they 
doubtless also had services in their private houses until 
a regular meeting was established some two years later. 

A History of Burlington Island. — Many persons in 
passing up the River Delaware, when opposite Burling- 
ton Island, express their admiration of its beauty, and 
wonder that it has never been built up with handsome 
villas. 

Perhaps a short history of the occupancy and settle- 
ment of the island in "ye olden times," may be interesting 
to our readers who have lived within sight of it for many 
years, but have never learned its history. An interesting 
account of the early settlement of the island by the 
whites, can be found in the Pennsylvania Magazine, Vol. 
10; also in Davis' History of Bucks County. 

The Island was in possession of the Indians previous to 
1616, when we find from the history of the Delaware 
River, that in that year three Dutch traders started from 
Fort Nassau, Albany, to explore the Delaware, down 
which they traveled to the mouth of the Schuylkill, stop- 
ping at the islands to establish trading posts with the 
Indians. They were made prisoners by the Minquas, 
but were afterward ransomed by Captain Hendrickson, 
who gave in exchange for them, blankets, beads and 
kettles. The Indians held possession of the island until 
1677, when Governor Andros, of New York, authorized 
Sheriff Cantwell to purchase all the land below the Falls, 
including the islands. The Indians refused to sell until 
they were paid the balance due them for lands sold at 
the Falls. The governor ordered an investigation to be 
made, when it was found that the balance due was five 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 25 

guns, thirty hoes and one anchor of rum. He ordered the 
claim settled at once, and there was no further trouble. 

These same Indians were part of the tribe that was 
settled near Crosswicks, among whom were many of the 
Delawares. They sold all their lands in New Jersey to 
the governor, and removed to Northern New York. 
Some time about the year 1823, a delegation of these 
Indians visited Trenton and waited on the governor. 
They informed him that when their fathers sold all their 
lands to the state, they did not include the right to gun 
and fish in the waters of the state, and they had come to 
dispose of that right. The governor inquired how much 
they wanted for their right and they replied $3,000. The 
matter was submitted to the Legislature, and upon 
investigation it was found that the statement of the 
Indians was true. An appropriation was made and the 
Indians went home rejoicing. A grand old state is New 
Jersey ! 

"The Indian hunter here his shelter found; 
Here cut his bow, and shaped his arrows true; 
Here built his wigwam and his bark canoe; 
Spear'd the salmon, leaping up the stream, 
And slew the deer without the rifle ball. 
Here the young squaw, her cradling tree would choose; 
Sing her chant, to hush her swart pappoose; 
Here stain her quills, and string her trickets rude. 
And weave her warrior's wampum in the wood. 
No more shall they thy welcome waters bless; 
No more their forms, thj'- moonlit banks shall press; 
No more be heard, from mountain or from grove 
His whoops of slaughter, or her songs of love. 
A mighty Chief, whose hundred bands 
Ranged freely over these shaded lands; 
But now there's scarcely left a trace, 
To mind one of that friendly race." 

Davis, in his history, says: "Burlington Island, in the 
Delaware opposite Bristol, came early into notice. It 
was recognized as belonging to the West Shore from its 
discovery, and was included in Markham's first purchase. 
The Indians called it Matiniconk, after the name of their 
chief. It was known by that name down to the time of 
Penn's arrival. It is so named in Lindstrom's map, pub- 
lished in 1654. When the English took possession cf the 



26 A HISTORY Ot' BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Delaware, it was in the possession of one Peter Alricks, 
a German, and was confiscated by the English Govern- 
ment with all his property, when in 1668, it was again 
restored to Alricks by order of Governor Lovelace. Dur- 
ing the time it was in confiscation it was taken possession 
of by Captain John Carre, and for a time was called 
Carre's Island — said to be in consideration of his brave 
conduct in capturing Fort Delaware. There was a 
frontier military and trading post established on the 
lower point of the island. Governor Lovelace wrote to 
Captain William Tom, October 6, 1671, who was in 
charge of affairs on the Delaware, to have the Matiniconk 
House put in good order, and to increase the guard, so 
it would make a strong defense in case of attack. 

"It was on this island that Peter Alricks' two servants 
were murdered in 1672. It was said that the expense of 
burying the two Dutchmen was one hundred and six 
guilders, and was paid by Jonas Neilson ; but the Upland 
Court refused to reimburse him. 

"In 1678, Sir Edmund Andros, who succeeded Governor 
Lovelace, leased the island to Robert Stacy for seven 
years, and Sheriff Cantwell put him in possession. Stacy 
and George Hutchinson, who were interested in the lease, 
conveyed the island to the Town of Burlington. 

"Thater and Lanker, explorers, who passed down the 
Delaware in 1679, in their report, say the island formerly 
belonged to the Dutch Governor, who made it a pleasure 
garden, built good houses on it, dyked and rowed and 
planted a large piece of meadow, from which he gathered 
more grain than from any other cleared land on the 
island. 

"It was rented to the Quakers, and during their occu- 
pancy George Fox, the distinguished Quaker, with some 
friends visited the island. They left Middletown Harbor, 
N. J., having reached there on a sloop from Long Island. 
They traveled through the woods piloted by the Indians, 
and reached the Delaware at Leasy's Point, N. J., oppo- 
site the upper end of the island, stopped at the house of 
one Peter Jegou, and the next morning crossed over to 
Burlington Island, and then to the mainland, just above 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. T.'J 

Bristol. He says he and his friends were taken over in 
Indian canoes and the horses swam over. 

"Among the earliest acts of the Legislature of Pennsyl- 
vania was one to confirm this island to Burlington, the 
rents and proceeds to be applied to maintain a free school 
for the education of the youth in said town. 

"In 1 711 the Legislative Council of New Jersey passed 
an act authorizing Lewis Morris to take up the island for 
the Hon. Robert Hunter, who purchased it the same year. 
It was surveyed, and found to contain 400 acres. The 
inhabitants of Burlington brought suit against Hunter to 
recover possession, and he was dispossessed in 1729. 

"In 1722, when Governor Burnett, of New York, occu- 
pied the island as a country seat, he had vistas cut 
through the woods, up and down the river and across 
from the creek to the river. In the olden times the people 
of Burlington and Bristol made it a place of resort for 
recreation. 

"In 1830, Colonel William R. Johnson, of Petersburg, 
Va., the Napoleon of the Turf, visited the island with a 
view of purchasing it for the purpose of establishing a 
race course and a stud farm. Upon exa,mination it was 
found the authorities of Burlington could not sell without 
an act of the Legislature when the project was 
abandoned. 

"Some years after, the Lehigh Coal Company wanted 
to purchase the lower end for a coal depot. Some of the 
wealthy men of Burlington, fearing it might be a detri- 
ment to their general plans for improvement in the city, 
formed a syndicate, of which George W. South was at 
the head, obtained an act from the Legislature authoriz- 
ing the authorities of Burlington to sell to them one-half 
of the island for $20,000, the money to be invested for 
the support of the free school. It was a good thing for 
Burlington, but a bad investment for the syndicate, as 
they sold it after holding it over thirty years and laying 
out considerable money in improvements, for $11,000 to 
a company who accidentally discovered a bed of mould- 
ing sand, said to be the very best for heavy castings that 
had been found in any part of the country. Judging from 
the number of vessels and barges seen loading there 
3 



28 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

during" the boating season, we infer that the purchase 
turned out to be a profitable investment. There was for 
many years a valuable shad fishery on the west shore, 
which the freshet of 1841 destroyed. 

"The river Delaware has had many n-ames. The 
Indians called it Marisquiton, Pautuxat, Lenape, Whihi- 
tuck. The Dutch called it Zyndt, or South River, Nassau, 
Prince Hendricks and Charles River. The Swedes named 
it New Swedland Stream ; it was also called New River. 
The English named it Delaware, after Lord De La 
Ware. 

The Coming of William Penn. — Penn landed in 
America in 1682. The manor of Pennsbury was laid out 
in 1683, on the Delaware River, in the southeastern part 
of Falls Township, and consisted of 8,431 acres. Penn 
designed this for his country seat, and spared neither 
pains nor expense in fitting it up ; but he was destined to 
be disappointed in his plans, and after a short occupancy, 
he left it in the care of his agent, not to return to it. 
Three hundred acres were reserved for the grounds of the 
"palace," but t?he rest was sold from time to time in 
parcels varying from fifty to more than 6,000 acres. In 
1703, the manor house, with its ground was settled upon 
the elder branch of the family, and remained in the pos- 
session of Penn's heirs until 1792, when it was sold to 
Robert Crozier. Bache's History, published in 1853, 
gives the following interesting account of Pennsbury: 

"Fading remembrances of Pennsbury! Now quiet, 
changed and neglected ; where once the forest sires of a 
noble race oft had met in friendly covenant, with the 
solemnity of worship and the joyfulness of dancing, unit- 
ing in council and in sacred compact with the white faces 
who have supplanted them, I cannot pass unnoticed thy 
almost renowned retreat. 

"The old mansion-house, which was by some called 
'Penn's Palace,' in those early days, was built in 1682-3, 
at a cost of £7,000. A large portion of the materials, 
especially for the ornamental parts, were sent from 
England by William Penn. The letters of instruction 
to his friends having charge of the buildings and in laying 



A HISTORY Olf BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 29 

out and improving the grounds, bespeak the deep interest 
he felt in having everything about his manor done in 
close conformity w^ith his taste and wishes. But, alas, 
few and troubled were the days he was permitted there to 
spend. Not until after an almost compulsory absence of 
fifteen years in England, did he reside at Pennsbury, 
where he remained less than two years (1700-1), during 
which period he was much absent at Philadelphia and 
New Castle, with his Council. 

"All that has escaped the decay of years and the ever 
shaping hand of man, to mark the original aspect of the 
spot, is that familiarly remembered as the 'malt house.' 
At Pennsbury, in 1701, on the eve of the second departure 
of the Proprietor, for England (a memorable departure, 
for he was never again enabled to return), Governor 
Penn, with a number of his Council, held one of the 
largest Indian councils that had been convened in the 
Province ; which we find recorded as having closed with 
'music, worship and dancing.' But now, how changed! 
And these Lenni (original) Lenape (people), where are 
they? We are told that the last of the 'Delawares' (as 
we have named them), went off from Buckingham in a 
body, in the year 1775. 

"Forced from the land that gave them birth, 
They dwindle from the face of earth." 

"Yes, they have disappeared, and Pennsbury too, is 
almost forgotten. None have placed a monumental stone 
to record its name and remembrance ; and while at later 
times our beautiful Delaware is becoming studded with 
its young and rising towns, none have seconded the early 
wished for hopes, which had marked out Pennsbury 
among the first. 

"Tamanend, the king or chief of the Delawares, who 
was an Indian much beloved and confided in by William 
Penn, for his integrity and many virtues, was buried near 
a spring, south of what is now Prospect Hill School, in 
Buckingham Township, about four miles from Doyles- 
town. He died in a cabin in the woods, and was buried 
by the kindness of a neighbor. His grave was for many 
years marked by a pile of stones thrown there to keep 
animals from disinterring the body." 



30 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Islands in the Delaware Below Bristol. — General Davis, 
in his history of Bucks County, claims that the rich 
meadows on the Delaware, below Bristol, were originally 
two islands, and were separated from the mainland by a 
narrow channel that drained a swamp that extended up 
the creek. The smaller of these islands was granted to 
Peter Alricks, a native of Groningen, Holland, who was 
the first known landholder in this county, but never lived 
here, by Governor Nicholls, in 1667; by Alricks to Samuel 
Borden, in 1682, and to Samuel Carpenter in 1688. The 
last conveyance includes both islands on the west side of 
the Delaware, "about southwest from Matiniconk 
(Burlington) Island," the largest, once known as Kipp's 
Island and by the Indian name of Kaomenakinckanck, 
was a mile long by half a mile wide ; and the smaller, 
known as Alricks' Island, to the north of the larger, 
half a mile long by a quarter wide. These islands have 
both since been joined to the mainland by draining the 
swamp, and now form the valuable meadows below 
Bristol. 

The Town Plot Staked Out.— By deed dated Decem- 
ber 20, 1695, part of the original tract owned by Samuel 
Clift, and including that now embraced within the cor- 
porate limits (extending from the mouth of Mill Creek up 
the Delaware), and containing one-half of a survey of 
twenty-two acres, was conveyed to Anthony Burton and 
Thomas Brock, and by deed from Peter White and 
Elizabeth, his wife, dated January 16, 1696, the other 
moiety of the above twenty-two acres was granted to 
the said Burton and Brock. 

By deed of partition, dated 4th mo., 8th, 1696, the above 
was divided, in severalty, between Anthony Burton and 
Thomas Brock. 

Under this partition deed, the town plot appears to 
have been originally staked out into streets and building 
lots, by the aforementioned Burton, Brock and White, 
the latter of whom either retained or purchased the north- 
western limits, or that portion now intersected by the 
Delaware Division Pa. Canal. (Bache's History of 
Bristol.) 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 3I 

Phineas Pemberton and James Harrison. — Although 
not residents of Bristol, yet as the names of these two 
men appear so often in its history, it is thought that a 
brief biography of their lives will not be amiss. The 
former was a practical surveyor and being personally 
interested in the proposed scheme of a market town at 
Bristol, was very properly chosen to draft the plan and 
mark the dimensions of the town. 

Phineas Pembertoij occupied at least four offices in the 
county, by appointment, and for nearly a score of years 
was the central figure in all its local affairs. He does not 
appear to have possessed those brilliant gifts which make 
men facile princeps, but he was amply endowed with 
those solid qualities that made him a safe counselor, and 
a careful, painstaking man of affairs. Whether this 
multiplication of honors was occasioned by a scarcity of 
men capable and willing to discharge these duties, or by 
his eminent fitness to bear these responsibilities, is not 
clear, but it is probable that both considerations con- 
tributed to the result. In a community where not a few 
of those prominent in public affairs found it necessary to 
"make their mark" when their signature was required, 
his literary attainments were considerable, and several of 
his productions in prose and verse give indication of a 
mental capacity very much superior to that of the many 
by whom he was surrounded. His connection with the 
leading families of the new community, by ties of kin- 
dred and the associations of a common persecution, also 
served to emphasize this prominence. Born in the same 
year that witnessed the separation of the Society of 
Friends from the world, he was early "visited with 
religious impressions, to which, as he rendered obedience, 
he became confirmed." Apprenticed in his fifteenth year 
to John Abraham, a Friend and grocer at Manchester, he 
was soon called upon to suffer the penalties of his adher- 
ence to a maligned people. In a letter to his father in 
1670, he describes the humiliating treatment he received 
from the officers of the law in language which bears the 
marks of a calmness and self-restraint characteristic of 
the cool blood of age rather than the impetuosity of a 
youth of twenty. 



32 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Prominent among the persecuted sect of that day was 
James Harrison, a shoemaker, of Stiall-Green, in Ches- 
hire. He was a minister, and in 1655, "traveled in the 
service of the gospel, in the north of England." In the 
same year he married Anne Heath, "who bore a daughter 
the seventh day of the twenty-fourth month, 1660, and 
called her name Phebe ; and this was she," wrote Phineas 
Pemberton, "that fell to be mine, through the Lord's good 
providence." In this year Harrison, William Yardley, 
James Brown, and their associates, were thrown into 
prison at Burgas-Gate in Shrewsbury, "for their testi- 
mony." They were released in 1661, only to be again 
repeatedly incarcerated in various prisons. In 1668 Har- 
rison removed from Cheshire, and made his residence 
somewhere in the neighborhood of Phineas Pemberton, 
who, in the following year, notes his first meeting with 
the one who was destined to be his wife. Phoebe and her 
mother, in passing through Manchester, stopped at his 
master's shop, and with childish frankness the little girl 
proposed to share some cherries she had with one of the 
clerks that stood behind the counter. Her mother sug- 
gested a less partial distribution of her favors, but the 
little maiden insisted in giving only to one, and was 
rewarded with "a paper of brown candy," by the favored 
youth. 

Phineas was at this time unacquainted with the family, 
but the little girl's marked preference for him made an 
impression that eventually ripened into a life-long affec- 
tion. On the expiration of his seven years' apprentice- 
ship, he went to Bolton, where he obtained a shop of his 
own, and in 1672 set up trade on his own account. Here 
he met Phoebe Harrison again, when an acquaintance 
was formed, which was consummated in marriage on the 
first of January, 1676. He continued attentive to his 
business, though frequently interrupted and insulted by 
the brutal persecutions of a bigotted populace and a 
vindictive law. But in all these trials and difficulties he 
commanded the respect of his friends and neighbors by 
the uprightness and integrity of his conduct, and was so 
far publicly honored as to be made overseer of the poor for 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 33 

Bolton. At length Penn's "divine experiment" was pro- 
jected, and the persecuted sect very generally turned to 
the new world as an asylum where they might worship 
God in their own way, "with none to molest or make 
them afraid." Harrison was early interested in this 
movement, and became one of Penn's most trusted agents 
in England. It was not without some hesitation that he 
arrived at the decision to emigrate, and some further time 
elapsed before he could arrange his affairs to leave. His 
decision, however, had an important influence upon a 
considerable number of others who made their homes in 
Bucks County, and he may be properly called the founder 
of the early community settled here. On the fifth of 
September, 1682, he took passage in the ship "Submis- 
sion," then lying at Liverpool, and accompanied by 
Phineas Pemberton and some fifty others of his immedi- 
ate relatives, friends and their servants, came to the new 
province. On their arrival in Maryland, Harrison and 
Pemberton at once set out for Philadelphia, and from 
thence proceeded to the site where William Yardley had 
a few weeks before fixed his residence. Harrison was 
elected to the first assembly before his return to his family, 
and Pemberton was soon afterward appointed clerk of the 
court. From that period until disabled by a fatal illness, 
save an unimportant interval, the records of the county 
were written wholly by his hand, and in them he has left 
a memorial of himself that will not be lost so long as the 
history of the community which he helped to establish 
shall be read. 

First Postal System. — A postal system was projected 
in conjunction with the early roads. In the fifth month, 
1683, William Penn issued an order for the establishment 
of a postoffice, and granted to Henry Waldy, of 
"Tekoney," authority to hold it. The rates of postage 
were as follows. From the Falls to Philadelphia, via 
Bristol, three pence; to Chester, five pence; to Newcastle, 
seven pence, and to Maryland, nine pence ; from Philadel- 
phia to Chester, two pence ; to Newcastle, four pence, and 
to Maryland, six pence. This post went only once a 
week, and the governor requested Phineas Pemberton to 



34 



A HISTORY O^ BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



carefully publish full information concerning" it "on the 
meeting house door and other public places." 

Among the duties enjoined upon Waldy was that of 
supplying passengers with horses from Philadelphia to 
Newcastle or to the Falls. It was this requirement of 
the post-rider that eventually caused his retirement. "Led 
horses" for the accommodation of travelers frequently 
accompanied the post, but this was found to interfere 
with the efficiency of the service, hence the introduction 
of the stage coach as soon as the condition of the roads 
permitted. 




A HISTORY OF BRISTOL. BOROUGH. 35 



EPOCH II. 



THE MARKET TOWN. 



From 1697, the Chartering of the Market Town, to 1720, 
the Development Into a Borough. 

Introduction — The influx of population into this locality- 
must have been considerable, which is sufficiently indi- 
cated by the fact that a market town was considered 
necessary for the comfort and convenience of the com- 
munity not many years after its first settlement. At this 
time there were but two towns in the province. Phila- 
delphia and Chester. The propriety and feasibility of the 
third being laid out were considerations of greater 
importance than would enter into the calculations of the 
founder of a prospective town at the present time. The 
project was brought to the notice of prominent men in 
the colony, and being received with favor, a petition was 
presented to the provincial council at a meeting of that 
body June 10, 1695, ^t the house of Phineas Pemberton, 
in Falls, Governor Markham, Samuel Carpenter, Joseph 
Growdon, Caleb Pussey and Phineas Pemberton being 
present. It was shown that the county had as yet no 
market town ; that for this purpose the ferry opposite 
Burlington was regarded as a good location ; that ways 
and streets had been projected there, "having regard to 
the division of divers men's lands," and therefore request- 
ing the governor and council, if the proposed location 
should be approved, to alter or confirm the streets; grant 
a weekly market; the liberty of wharfing and building to 
a convenient distance into the river and creek; that every 
street terminating at the banks should be a public land- 
ing; that the buildings on the bank might be so regulated 
as to leave sufficient space for a street at the water's 



36 A HISTORY 01? BRISTOL. BOROUGH. 

edge; that the major part of the inhabitants might have 
power to appoint two or more of their number to see 
that these regulations were observed ; and that also a 
proper officer be appointed to seal liquid and dry 
measures. The authorities thus consulted were pleased 
to regard this as "verie reasonable," and graciously con- 
sented to the proposed action on the part of the "inhabi- 
tants and owners of land in the County of Bucks, but 
more especially in the Township of Buckingham (Bris- 
tol). Phineas Pemberton was directed to prepare a draft 
of the town, and John White appointed "sealer" agree- 
ably to the terms of the petition. The survey was prob- 
ably made the same year (1697) ; and with this date the 
chronological record of the oldest town in Bucks County 
may be said to begin. 

Bristol Mills. — An old institution of Bristol were the 
mills on Mill street, the ruins of which are now owned by 
J. and A. Dorrance. They were built by Samuel Carpen- 
ter in 1701. The vessels from the river sailed up to the 
door to load and unload their cargoes. These mills came 
into the possession of the Dorrance family some time 
after the beginning of 1800. During the ownership of 
John Dorrance, the father of the present owners, there 
were associated with him as partners, Joseph Warner, 
Jesse W. Knight, H. M. Wright, Henry Forst, David 
Jones and Ellwood Doron, each of whom, with the excep- 
tion of Mr. Forst, who lived but seven months after enter- 
ing into partnership, laid the foundation of his fortune 
there. The interest of Joseph Warner in the property 
was purchased by Mr. Dorrance in 1836, and in 1840, the 
old mill was torn down and a new one erected. At that 
time, and for some years after, a large trade was done in 
shipping kiln-dried corn meal to the southern states, and 
West Indies. Many a large vessel has been fully 
freighted from the old mill with a heavy cargo for these 
places, the profits for the year's shipments amounting in 
one instance to $40,000. Upon the establishment of mills 
on the Brandywine and other available streams, this trade 
declined, until not a vestige of it was left, the business 
during the later years being mainly local. The mill Avas 
burned March 14, 1866, having a large stock of grain on 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOI. BOROUGH. 



37 



hand at that time. The loss to Messrs. Dorrance and 
Doron was estimated at $30,000, A new mill, three 
stories high, was then built and the loss soon retrieved. 
At the death of Mr. Dorrance, in 1869, his two sons, John 
and Arthur, came into possession, and it continued in 
their occupancy until April, 1874, when they sold the 
property to Rogers Brothers, sons of Wm. B. Rogers, of 
Bristol Township. The entire concern, including saw 
mill, lumber yard, canal stables, coal sheds, blacksmith 
shop, one store, two dwelling houses, mill race and pQrid, 




ilKlSTdU MILLS IN 1 885. 

were sold for .$60,000; the mill and lumber yard having 
a front on Mill Street of about 400 feet. The purchasers 
were hard-working, enterprising young men, who had 
been engaged for several years in the cultivation of sage 
upon their farm near Bristol, having succeeded so well in 
proper drying and grinding of the herb, as to produce a 
demand which taxed their ability to supply. The sage 
business was still superintended by two of the firm, 
James and William, while the other two, Robert W. and 
Frank, devoted their time to the milling and lumber 



38 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

trade. Under their careful management the business was 
gradually extended, until a want of better facilities was 
felt, and after much examination it was decided to intro- 
duce the "Jones system of gradual reduction." The alter- 
ation to the mill and the erection of the machinery was 
entrusted to Joseph Cartledge, the well-known mill- 
wright of Holmesburg, Pa. After the installation of the 
new system, the business apparently increased and it 
seemed as if the firm would be rewarded for its enter- 
prise. But in April, 1886, the town was startled by the 
announcement of the failure of Rogers Brothers, and the 
appointment of the late William H. Grundy as assignee. 
Mr. Grundy immediately assumed the duties of the posi- 
tion and in a few weeks sold the effects at public sale. 
The property was bought by the present owners, J. and 
A. Dorrance. Since the property has come into the pos- 
session of the present owners, the old saw mill and grist 
mill have been destroyed by fire. The office connected 
with the mills is at present occupied by Samuel Scott as 
a grocery store. 

It is related that when a detachment of British cavalry, 
from Philadelphia visited Bristol on Good Friday, 1778, 
during the Revolutionary War, their object being to 
arrest the officers of a small body of militia stationed in 
the borough, they threatened to burn the mills unless a 
certain amount of money was paid to them. Word was 
sent to Captain John Clark, who lived on the Fairview 
farm. He rode to Bristol and forbid the burning of the 
mills on the ground that he was a British officer and was 
interested in the ownership of the property. The cap- 
tain of the troop asked him where his regiment was sta- 
tioned. He replied : "In the West Indies." He wished 
to know why he was not with his regiment. Clark re- 
plied that he was on the sick list and was on furlough. 
The mills were not burned nor money paid for their 
ransom. In the meantime, word was sent to the row 
of galleys lying below Burlington, of the occupation of 
the town by the British troops. They immediately 
crossed the river to Bristol, but before they were landed 
the troops with their prisoners left town and returned to 
Philadelphia. Shortly after the British army left Phila- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 39 

delphia, Captain Clark resig-ned his commission and 
remained on the farm till his death. He was much 
respected by his neighbors and friends. 

Samuel Carpenter. — Samuel Carpenter, born in Surry, 
England, who came to the province from the island of 
Barbadoes, in 1683, and afterwards became a wealthy 
shipping merchant of Philadelphia, was the largest land- 
holder in Bristol Township at the close of the century. 
He purchased some two thousand acres contiguous to 
Bristol, and including the site of the borough. Among 
the tracts he bought were those of John Otter, Samuel 
Clift, Edward Bennet, and Griffith Jones, running down 
the Delaware nearly to the mouth of the Neshaminy, and 
afterward that of Thomas Holme, running back to the 
Middletown line, making about one thousand four hun- 
dred acres. He likewise owned two islands in the river. He 
probably built the Bristol mills, which stood on what was 
then Mill Creek, a quarter of a mile from the river, and 
up to whose doors small vessels came to load and unload 
freight. The saw mill was seventy feet long by thirty- 
two wide, and was able to cut about one thousand five 
hundred feet in twelve hours, while the flour mill had four 
run of stones, with an undershot wheel. We do not know 
at what time Mr. Carpenter built the mills, but in 1705 
he speaks of them as being "newly built." They earned 
a clear profit of £400 a year. The mill pond then covered 
between two and three hundred acres. The pine timber 
sawed at the mill was brought from Timber Creek, New 
Jersey, and the oak cut from his own land near by. At 
that day the mills had about fifteen feet head and fall, 
and there was water enough to run about eight months 
in the year. About 1710 or 1712, Mr. Carpenter removed 
to Bristol, and made his summer residence on Burlington 
island, his dwelling standing as late as 1828. He Avas th'e 
richest man in the province in 1701, but lost heavily by 
the French and Indian War, of 1703, and in 1705 he 
offered to sell his Bristol property to his friend Jonathan 
Dickinson, of the island of Mamaica. He married Han- 
nah Hardman, an immigrant from Wales, in 1684, and 
died at Philadelphia in 1714. His wife died in 1728. His 



40 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

son, Samuel, married a daughter of Samuel Preston, and 
a grand daughter of Thomas Lloyd. Samuel Carpenter 
was largely interested in public affairs; was a member of 
the council and assembly, and treasurer of the province. 
He is spoken of in high terms by all his contemporaries. 
The Ellets, who distinguished themselves in the late civil 
war, were descendants of Samuel Carpenter, through the 
intermarriage of the youngest daughter of his son Samuel, 
with Charles Ellet. 

Bristol Court House. — Bristol was the first seat of 
justice in Bucks County. In 1705 the Assembly author- 
ized the erection of a court house. It was a two-story 
brick building, 24 x 34 feet, and had whipping post 
attached. A beam extended from the gable to be used as 
a gallows in case an execution was ordered. The upper 
room was used as a court room, and the lower one as a 
prison. The building stood on Cedar street, on the lot 
now owned by William Booz, upon which his dwelling 
stands. The lot extended from Cedar Street to Radcliffe. 
After the removal of the courts, in 1725, from Bristol to 
Newtown, the building and lot were sold by the county 
to John De Normandie, who in 1772, sold it to Phineas 
Buckley, Chief Burgess, for the use of the borough upon 
the payment of certain quit rents. The council fitted the 
upper story of the building for a place in which to hold 
their meetinp-s. The lower room was occupied as a school 
room and for the holding of the elections. In 1834 the 
Burgess and Council sold the property to William Kin- 
sey for $1,000; who pulled the old building down and 
built the dwelling now occupied by William Booz. 

A glance through ancient records, shows that at the 
meeting of the Borough Council, held on October 19, 
1792. John Gosline, who was at that time Second Burgess, 
made application for the upper part of the old court 
house, where a "scllool is now kept," for a lease for the 
term of twelve years, which was granted. At the meet- 
ing held on May 28, 1793, he informed the council that a 
lease had been executed to himself, Samuel and William 
Rodan, Jr., for the same, "for the purpose of the Free 
Masons Lodge, for the term of twelve years, commencing 
the first day of April last past." 



A HISTORY 01^ BRISTOI. BOROUGH. 41 

Cutler's Draft of Town (1715). — The original draft of 
the "Market Town" plot, by Phineas Pemberton, has not 
been preserved among the records of the town. The old- 
est original draft believed now to be in preservation is 
that of John Cutler, made July 13, 1715, which is much 
defaced and obliterated from frequent handling. This 
draft by Cutler purports to be drawn "according to 
Phineas Pemberton's survey, with some amendments" 
(evidently meaning a further extension of the town 
plot), "by an agreement of the inhabitants." On this 
draft we find the town laid out into twelve blocks, or 
squares, and eleven suburbal parts or fractions. The 
names of the lot-holders, with their respective local 
places, as presented on Cutler's draft, are : 

On west side of Mill Street, from the dock to Cedar 
Street, Joseph Growdon, i ; Cedar to Wood, Phineas 
Pemberton, i ; John White, 2 ; Wood to Pond, Robert 
Brown, i; John Smith, 2; Thomas Musgrove, 3; John 
Town, 4; Samuel Carpenter, 5. (Although not upon the 
draft, the compiler has reliable authority in saying that 
Samuel Carpenter's plot extended north of Pond Street, 
embracing all that valuable property long known as the 
"Bristol Mills.") 

Mill Street, east side, from Water to Radcliffe Street, 
Thomas Brock, i ; Radcliffe to Cedar, Thomas Brock, i ; 
Henry Baker, 2 ; Anthony Burton, 3 ; Cedar to Wood (and 
Mill to Market), Phineas Pemberton, i ; Samuel Brown, 
2; Wm. Croasdale, 3; Samuel Oldale, 4; Wood to Pond 
(and Mill to Market), John White, i; John Smith, 2; 
Thos. Musgrove, 3. Lands north of Pond, lying between 
Mill and Mulberry Streets, were owned by Thomas 
Brock, and northeast of Brock's, by John Town, Thomas 
Musgrove, John Smith and John White. 

Market Street, west side, from Water to Radcliffe, 
Anthony Burton, i ; Radcliffe to Cedar, Anthony Burton, 
I ; Thomas Brock, 2. 

Market Street, east side, from Water to Cedar, Samuel 
Carpenter, i ; Cedar to Wood, Phineas Pemberton, i ; 
Samuel Carpenter, 2 ; Wood to Pond (east of Market to 
Walnut), lands of John White and John Town. 

Mulberry Street, west side, from Water to Wood, Peter 



42 A HISTORY 01^ BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 

White, I ; east side of Mulberry, from Water to Rad- 
cliffe, Anthony Burton, i ; Radcliffe to Cedar, Anthony 
Burton, i; Thomas Brock, 2; Cedar to Wood, Phineas 
Pemberton, i ; Thomas Brock, 2. 

Wahiut Street, west side, from Water to Radcliffe, 
Thomas Brock, i ; Radcliffe to Cedar, Thomas Brock, i ; 
Anthony Burton, 2; Cedar to Wood, Thomas Brock. 

East side of Walnut (from Water Street north, 45° 
west to Cedar Street), lands of Robert Brown. (Bache's 
History.) 

An Old Landmark. — At the corner of Pond and Mar- 
ket streets, formerly stood an old dwelling, which 
for years was occupied by J. Merrick Brown, ticket agent 
at the Bristol station. It was one of the oldest houses 
in the borough, having been erected prior to 1700. A few 
years ago the land was purchased by the Pennsylvania 
Railroad Company and the old building was demolished. 

In the early settlement of Bristol this tract of land 
belonged to William Heaton, whose lands extended to 
Walnut Street. During his occupancy of the premises 
there was great excitement in the town on account of a 
man being found dead in the well. One of the family, in 
attempting to draw a bucket of water, could not succeed. 
In looking down the well she discovered something that 
looked like a large dog. She called her father, who got a 
grappling hook, and with the assistance of some of his 
neighbors drew it up, when lo and behold, it proved to be 
an Indian. The question arose among the citizens who 
had gathered around the corpse : How did he get in the 
well? Some thought he had been murdered for his money 
and thrown down the well ; others ridiculed the idea of an 
Indian being in possession of money enough to induce 
any person to murder him. A jury was summoned, and 
upon investigation it was found that he was one of a 
party of Indians who the day before had crossed over 
from New Jersey to sell their baskets, which they were 
in the habit of doing two or three times a year, and on 
such occasions would get generally intoxicated. It was 
in evidence that this man was seen late on the preceding 
day lying on the sidewalk in front of the lot where he 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 43 

was found, with two silver dollars in his hand, which 
gave rise to the suspicion that he had been murdered for 
his money, as the money was not found. The jury, find- 
ing no marks of violence on the body, rendered a verdict 
that he come to his death by falling down the well while 
intoxicated. His friends, missing him when they reached 
home, came back to look for him, and when made 
acquainted with the manner of his death, their theory 
was, that after sleeping ofif his drunk, having no more 
whiskey, he went to the well for a drink of water, and 
it being dark he had fallen in and was drowned. It was 
a long time before the family or neighbors would drink 
the water from that well, although it was considered the 
best in the borough. 

After the death of Mr. Heaton the property came in 
possession of Henry Tomlinson, who married one of the 
family. "Uncle Henry," as he was called by the younger 
portion of the community, was a man of good sense, 
noted hospitality, and a very active mind, positive in his 
convictions and fond of controversy. He was a shoe- 
maker by trade and a school teacher by profession and 
kept school in his shop, combining both professions, that 
of teaching the young idea how to shoot and of making 
and mending shoes. His motto was : While you educate 
the head, take care of the feet. 

He was a member, trustee and sexton of the M. E. 
Church, and entertained singular ideas of heating 
churches. One cold winter morning, one of the members 
arriving at the church early and finding the doors open, 
the cold wind blowing in the church, said : "Brother 
Tomlinson, why don't you close the doors?" 

His reply was : "There is a good fire in the stove. I 
leave the doors open so that the wind may blow the heat 
around the house." 

Some of our old citizens will remember him as a leader 
of the singing in the church. Standing in front of the 
pulpit, by the aid of the tuning fork he would start the 
tunes, and with his strong bass voice would make the 
church ring. 

He had frequent controversies with one James Johnson 
on matters of faith and practice. Jimmy, as he was gen- 
4 



44 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

erally called, was a sharp, shrewd Irishman, with a super- 
abundance of mother-wit. He was also a member of the 
Catholic Church, a firm believer in her doctrines and 
usages. On one occasion their argument was on the 
Virgin Mary. Jimmy contended that as she was the 
mother of Christ she should be reverenced and wor- 
shipped. Uncle Henry, in reply, said that in her woman- 
hood she was no better than his own mother. "But I 
perceive," said Jimmy, "there is a great difference in 
their sons." 

He was the inventor of the dipper, which superseded 
the scoop-net for catching fish, for which he was recog- 
nized by the boys as "Uncle Dipper." 

At his death, the property went to his daughter, Ann 
Eliza, who built the frame house adjoining, and married 
Charles Pasco, who kept a shoe store in the building now 
occupied by Mr. Emil Erthel. After her death the prop- 
erty was purchased by J. M. Brown. 

The De Normandies. — The De Normandies were a 
princely family of France, holding feudal tenures in 
Champagne from the earliest times, the heads of the 
house being the Lords de la Motte. In 1460 Guilliaume 
De Normandie was made royal governor of Noyon in 
Picardy, and founded the chapel of St. Claire in the 
Church of St. Martin. He married a De Roye, princess 
in her own right, and daughter of the lord of De Mailly 
D'Aisely and Montescourt. From Giulliaume De Nor- 
mandie descended Laurent De Normandie, the warm 
friend and supporter of Calvin, and the executor of his 
will, who fled to Geneva, and, as did his sons after him, 
filled some of the highest ofifices in that republic. From 
Laurent came Jean De Normandie, one of the deputies 
sent in 1630 to conclude a treaty of peace with the Prince 
of Savoy, and from Jean came Joseph, named after his 
uncle and godfather, the celebrated Due De La 
Tremouille. These were all counsellors of state and 
syndics of Geneva, as was Michael, the son of Joseph. 
From Michael came Andre De Normandie, the confiden- 
tial agent and lieutenant of Frederick the Great at 
Neufchatel. In his old age this Andre De Normandie, 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 45 

born at Geneva in 165 1, came to America in 1706, with 
his two sons, John Abram and John Anthony, and settled 
at Bristol, where he died in 1724. Of his sons, John 
Abram, in 1688, and John Anthony, in 1693, married 
Henrietta Elizabeth, and Mary, daughters of Doctor 
Francis Gandonet. The former died at Bristol in 1757, 
and the latter in 1748. The remains of father and sons 
repose in Saint James' Churchyard. The children of the 
two sons married into the families of Bard, of Burlington, 
and Anderson, whose whereabouts is not known. Some 
of the De Normandies sided with England in the Revo- 
lutionary struggle and got into trouble, while with others, 
Washington was on terms of warm friendship. The 
families were valuable citizens in the church and out of 
it. Some of them were physicians, and men of science 
and culture, and they owned considerable real estate in 
the county. Doctor James De Normandie, a physician 
with a large practice in Penn's manor, was the last of the 
family to leave the county, and settled in Ohio about sev- 
enty years ago. His son, James, was at one time a clergy- 
man of the Episcopal Church at Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
shire. The father married a sister of Samuel Yardley, 
formerly of Doylestown. Late in life Doctor John Abram 
went to Geneva to claim property left him and his cousin 
by an old nobleman. He there met Voltaire, who was so 
pleased with his society that he made some preparation 
to return with him and lay his bones here. The doctor 
brought home a miniature given him by Voltaire, which 
is yet owned by the descendants of the family. (Davis' 
History of Bucks County). 

Old Records Lost. — William Bache, in his History of 
Bristol, published in 1853, says : "It is proper to notice 
that nearly all the early papers and records belonging to 
the corporation (say from about the year 1700 to 1749), 
and others of more recently intervening periods), have 
been lost, some destroyed by rats, and others scattered 
abroad, a fact to be regretted by many, as it involves 
much of our local history in obscurity. 

"Some of the earliest records of the county appear also 
to have suffered a like fate ; and we are told by that inde- 



46 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

fatigable annalist, J. F. Watson, that where the road from 
Philadelphia to Buckingham 'was across the Neshaminy, 
at Galloway's Ford, one mile from Hulmeville, through 
Langhorn's Park, thence by Attleborough — ' 

" 'Near that ford once stood Growdon's old fire-proof, 
in which were kept the records of Bucks County; and 
when Joseph Galloway went ofif with the British in 1778, 
the office was broken open and the records strewed about, 
to the use of any who might possess them.' The old fire- 
proof had not been entirely demolished in 1853 ; enough 
still existed to attest the fact of the attack made upon it, 
while its old door, perforated with bullet holes from the 
British musketry, was still preserved." 

Bristol Society of Friends. — Nearly all the first settlers 
of Buckingham, now Bristol, as well as of other parts of 
the lower end of Bucks County, were members of the 
Society of Friends. Meetings for worship were 
established about the Falls of the Delaware, some time 
before the country had received the name of Pennsyl- 
vania, the members belonging to a Alonthly Meeting, held 
at Burlington, dating from 1674. In 1683 a Monthly 
Meeting was established at the house of William Biles, 
in what is now known as The Manor, of which Friends 
living in Bristol and at Neshamine, now Middletown, be- 
came members. The Governor and his wife, while in 
Pennsylvania, were members of this Monthly Meeting, 
and Phineas Pemberton, whose name as clerk of the first 
Orphans' Court frequently appears upon our early county 
records, was its Recorder of Births and Deaths. The first 
Bucks Quarterly Meeting, composed of the original Falls 
Monthly Meeting and a new one set off therefrom called 
Neshamine, was held at the house of William Biles, on 
March 7, 1684. 

For nearly twenty years Friends at Bristol Avere not 
allowed any regular meeting of their own, and growing" 
weary of being thus deprived of religious privileges, they 
petitioned the Falls Monthly Meeting in 1704, that they 
might be allowed to hold a meeting sometimes among 
themselves, but this favor was not granted until 1707, 
when permission was given them to hold a meeting of 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



47 



worship bi-weekly, on First Days, and once a week on 
week days. 

In 1706, Samuel Carpenter, a wealthy Friend, offered 
to give Falls Monthly Meeting "a piece of ground for a 
meeting house and burying place, and pasture, at Bristol, 
and the gift having been accepted by the Meeting the 
same was ordered to be deeded to Joseph Kirkbride and 
others for the uses aforesaid. The trustees appointed by 
the Monthly Meeting seem to have been most unac- 
countably derelict in their duties, for we find, in 1710, a 
minute of the Monthly Meeting stating that "Bristol 




FRTKNDS MEETING HOUSE. 



Friends renewed an application, first made in 1706, for 
the building of a meeting house. The following quaint 
minute of the Quarterly Meeting gives evidence that the 
request of Bristol Friends for a meeting house was soon 
granted. It is as follows : At a Quarterly Meeting, held 
at Middletown, ye 22nd of ye 12th Month, 1710. This 
meeting having under its consideration the building of a 
meeting house at Bristol, it's concluded there be a good, 
substantial house built, either of brick or stone, and the 
Friends appointed to take the dimensions, and for the 
convenientest place is Joseph Kirkbride, Joshua Koupes, 



48 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

John Satcher, Thatcher, Thomas Stevenson and Adam 
Harker, together with such Bristol Friends as they think 
fit, who are Hkewise to compute the charge as near as 
may be, and to appoint whom they may think fit to man- 
age the work, and give an account of their proceeding to 
the next meeting." Three months later : "The Friends 
appointed to take care about the meeting house at Bristol 
report they have made some progress therein, having 
obtained a grant of a lot of land from Samuel Carpenter, 
to set the meeting house on, likewise has agreed for the 
dimensions, first ye carpenter work has computed the 
charge of ye whole, and thinks it will be about £200. 
The meeting appointed Joseph Kirkbride and others 'to 
undertake the first, and the rest of ye work belonging to 
it, and take care to see it well and carefully done, and 
with what expedition may be.' The meeting also urged 
Friends to make collections in their respective meetings 
for the new building, and appointed trustees to hold the 
title for the Quarterly Meeting to the ground given for 
the meeting place and burial ground, this being a rare 
instance of title to property held by other Monthly 
Meetings." 

After seven years of delay the meeting house project 
was in a fair way to be accomplished, and in December, 
1713, the Quarterly Meeting was informed that "the 
committee to settle Bristol meeting house, report they 
have completed the same," from which it would appear 
that this ancient landmark lacks but two years of being 
200 years old. The bricks used in its construction were 
brought from England, and this doubtless added to the 
delay in its completion. In 1728. the building was partly 
taken down and rebuilt, it being in danger of falling. In 
1735 oi" 1736. an addition was built, greatly enlarging its 
capacity, and in 1756 it was finished in the upper story. 
Previous to 1839-40, the entrance was in the Alarket 
Street end of the house, the galleries being at the east 
end, facing the entrance, and the aisle running length- 
wise of the building, probably passing through a doorwav 
into the addition in the rear. During the Revolutionary 
war the house was occupied as a hospital, as appears from 
the following minute of September 15, 1778: "Joseph 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 49 

Church, William Bidgood, John Hutchinson and Phineas 
Buckley are appointed to get the meeting house cleared 
of the troops in the little end of the house so that it may- 
be fit to meet in." A number of patients in this hospital 
are believed to have been buried in the lot now occupied 
by Mohican Hall, on Otter Street. In 1820 a school was 
kept in the upper story of the house, taught by Dr. Henry 
Lippincott, afterward many years in practice at Fallsing- 
ton, Mary Prosser, Letitia Swain and Hannah Coleman. 
In 1828 a split occurred in the Society and the Orthodox 
Friends withdrew and built a meeting house at the corner 
of Wood and Walnut Streets. This building is still 
standing, meetings being held therein on every First Day. 
In 1867 another separation took place, when those who 
accepted the Millerite doctrines erected a meeting house 
at the corner of Walnut and Wilson Streets. This build- 
ing was torn down about twenty-five years ago. These 
unfortunate divisions among the members of the Society 
have greatly reduced its numbers and influence. 

St, James' Protestant Episcopal Church. — The St. 
James' Protestant Episcopal Church originated indirectly 
in a division among Friends, about the year 1696, when 
the more conservative party took the name of Keithians, 
from George Keith, their leader, who maintained that the 
"inner light" was not a sufficient guide, and that the only 
rule of life was the written word of God, at the same time 
strenuously advocating the sobriety and plainness of the 
sect. Keith promulgated these doctrines with such suc- 
cess that fifteen different meetings of the Friends were 
brought into full agreement with him during a stay of 
several years in America. Upon his return to England, 
Keith was again brought into contact with the Anglican 
Church, and the influence thus brought to bear upon his 
mind completed his separation from the Quakers ; he was 
ordained to the ministry by Compton, Bishop of London, 
and was at once commissioned the first missionary of the 
"Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts." There was at this time a single Episcopal clergy- 
man in the province, Mr. Evans, of Philadelphia. His 
arrival preceded that of Keith on his second voyage two 



so 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



or three years, during which period several hundred per- 
sons had been baptized. The presence of Keith gave a 
new impetus to the movement; and during his brief stay, 
he baptized at least two hundred persons, some of whom 
were from Bristol. The Rev. John Talbot was chaplain 
on the man-of-war in which Keith came out on his mis- 




ST. JAMES p. K. CHURCH. 

sionary voyage, and became greatly interested in the 
plans of the society. When Keith visited this locality, he 
was accom()anied by Talbot, who became the first rector 
of St. Mary's Parish, Burlington. Subsequent develop- 
ments with reference to this town are thus explained by 
Dr. Humphreys. "New Bristol lies opposite Burlington, 
on the other side of the Delaware. The people there for- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 5 1 

sock Quakerism much about the same time the inhabi- 
tants of Burlington did. A church was soon erected there 
through the zeal of the people, especially through the 
means of two worthy gentlemen of the place, Mr. John 
Rowland and Mr. Anthony Burton, who were chiefly 
instrumental in this work. They had no missionary sent 
to reside among them constantly, but used to be visited 
by the minister of Burlington. Mr. Talbot, who was fixed 
at Burlington, used frequently to cross the water to them, 

and preach and perform all the ministerial offices 

The people were sensible that the society was not able to 
establish missionaries in every place, and were therefore 
content to be assisted by the minister of Burlington, and 
the society has always given directions that the minister 
of that place should take Bristol into his care" ; so that 
the Rev. John Talbot was the first rector in charge of 
this parish. 

The church site and burial grounds, comprising an acre 
and a half, were donated by Anthony Burton. It is 
thought that the donor first gave the lot upon which the 
church was to be erected, and afterward supplemented 
this with the wider limits now established. The church 
edifice was probably commenced in 1711. The founders 
of the parish had but little or no exterior aid. The title- 
page of the old record book says of the church that it 
was "built by subscription of several well-disposed per- 
sons, and being finished was dedicated to the honor of St. 
James the Greater, the festival of that apostle being ye 
25th day of July, 1712." Queen Anne favored this parish 
in common with many others with the gift of a solid silver 
communion service, which must have been given soon 
after the opening of the church, as the queen died in 1714. 

Mr. Talbot continued his connection with the parish 
tmtil 1720, when he returned to England on a mission of 
great interest to the church in this country. When he 
came to America again, three years later, it was in the 
capacity of bishop, the first ecclesiastical dignitary of 
his church in the British colonies. During the three 
years of his absence, the parish was supplied by Reverend 
Thoroughgood Moore, and upon his death in 1727, the 
Rev. Robert Weyman took charge. The oldest records 



52 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

of the vestry begin in his incumbency, with Matthew 
Rue and Francis Gaudorett, church wardens; John 
Abram De Normandie, William Hope, John Anthony 'De 
Normandie, John Bessonett, William Gregory, William 
Silverstone, Evan Harris, John Underwood, Matthias 
Keene, John Williams, Jonathan Bourne and Thomas 
Worrell, vestrymen. It appears that at this time the 
parish owned a "Church House," bequeathed by John 
Rowland. Mr. Weyman received iio yearly salary from 
Bristol. His successor, the Rev. William Lindsay, 
received £24. While he was in charge, an entry Avas 
made in the records respecting "ye hours given to ye 
church by Otter Atherson." This piece of property was 
sold for £37 los. The Rev. Carlin Campbell, the 
next rector, was in charge from 1741 to 1766, a 
period of twenty-five years, during all of which time the 
local contributions to his support did not exceed ten pounds 
a year. His successor, Mr. Odell, presided at a vestry meet- 
ing in 1768, beyond which fact nothing more is known of 
him. Reverend Mr. Lewis was the rector in 1776. and, with 
many others of the clergy throughout the country, continued 
his attachment to the English government. The odium 
which this course incurred was transferred in great measure 
to the church itself. Buildings consecrated to worship were 
visited with all the displeasure the uniform loyalty of the 
clergy inspired. Bristol was no exception. The parish 
church was not only desecrated, but wholly dismantled. Its 
chancel furniture disappeared- The doors and windows were 
carried away, and so it remained exposed to sunshine and 
storm ; and when an American cavalry company was 
stationed here for a time, this venerable house of worship 
was used as a stable for their horses. After the war, it re- 
mained in this half-ruinous condition for a considerable 
period. It was for a time used as a barn, and the graves in 
the unfenced burial-ground were trodden under foot of man 
and beast with impunity. As late as 1806. a former member 
of the parish gave charge that he should not be buried in 
that neglected ground, but miles away in Bensalem where 
his grave would be less open to violation. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOI. BOROUGH 



53 



Indeed, it seemed more difficult for the church to gain a 
footing when the country entered upon a period of pros- 
perity and independence than it had been a century previous. 
In this parish, it seemed as if the work of three score years 
and ten had been utterly lost. At the organization of the 
diocesan convention at Philadelphia in 1785, Christopher 
Merrick represented St. James', Bristol, and although an 
effort was made to secure a rector, no minister is reported as 
stationed here until 1809. Services had been held for three 
years previously by the Rev. Henry Waddell, D. D., of 
Trenton, who officiated once in two weeks, the stipulated 




PARISH HOUSE OF ST. J.^MES P. E. CHURCH. 

compensation for which was £50, or as much as the 
pew money should amount to. He appears to have dissolved 
his connection with St. James' in 18 10. Reverend James 
Andrews, D. D., provost of the University of Pennsylvania, 
was the next rector. The record book makes no mention of 
this fact, but journals of the early Pennsylvania conventions 
make it evident. The ministry of the Rev. Richard Drason 
Hall began in February, i8r^. His stipend, including pew 
rents, amounted to $500, the largest yet paid in the history 



54 A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

of the church. The building of a new church was agitated 
in view of increased attendance under the ministry, but not 
effected. The bounds of the parish in 1815 are indicated by 
the appointment in that year of John Harrison, collector for 
Bensalem. Joseph King and James Wright for Bristol, and 
George Remson for Newport. The property outside of the 
church and graveyard, vested in the parish, consisted in 
1816, of the house bequeathed by John Rowland in 171 5, and 
a lot of half an acre in Attleboro, of which the donor is not 
known. Of the pews in the church as enlarged in that 
year, one was free and one was set apart for persons of 
color. The minstry of J\Ir. Hall was one of great zeal and 
in some respects of remarkable success- The membership 
was largely increased and the church property greatly 
improved. 

Air. Jacquette succeeded him in 1822, and the Rev. Al- 
bert A. Muller, in 1823, but neither remained very long. 
The ministry of the next rector, the Rev. J. V. E. Thorn, 
was eminently evangelical, but too short to have effected 
much permanent good. He resigned February 27, 1828- 
The Rev. William H. Rue was elected and appointed rector 
April 7, 1828; George W. Ridgeley. in 1830; W. S. Per- 
kins, in June. 1833; Henrv B. Barton, January i. 1855; T^s- 
eph W. Pierson, July, 1857; W. W. Spear, D. D., in 1861 ; 
John H. Drumm, D. D., Februarv. 1863 ; John C. Brooks, 
1876; Joseph Lee, 1878; William Leggett Kolb, 1886; Wil- 
liam Bryce Morro, 1892; William H. Bown, 1903. Mr. 
Perkins thus speaks of things as they existed when lie en- 
tered the parish : "The church was discouraging and unbe- 
coming to the character of the place and the people ; the 
yard around was nearly destitute of trees, and even the old- 
fashioned spire on the roof seemed to sympathize in the 
general depression, for it had ceased to point directlv 
heavenward." The decaying edifice was at length repaired, 
but the expense thus incurred absorbed all the property of 
the parish. The communion plate given by Queen Anne had 
long since disappeared ; it was followed one by one, as all 
the other benefactions made to the parish were sold At 
length it became apparent that further repairs to the oM 



A HISTORY OF' BRISTOL BOROUGH. 55 

church building were useless. Mr. Barton began the erec- 
tion of the present edifice, and it was completed by his 
successor, Mr. Pierson. The consecration occurred Wed- 
nesday, September 8, 1857. The Right Rev. Samuel Bow- 
man, D. D., Assistant Bishop of the Diocese, presiding. 
Mr. Barton pronounced the sentence of consecration. The 
edifice is of the Byzantine order of architecture, built of 
Trenton broAvn-stone with bead mouldings and corbels, in 
dimensions one hundred by forty-five feet, with a chancel 
sixteen feet deep and seventeen feet wide, and a seating 
capacity of 500. A handsome chapel for Sunday school 
purposes was erected in 1877, under the auspices of the 
Ladies' Aid Society. Since the retirement of the Rev. W. 
H. Bown, in 1908, the church has been without a stationed 
clergyman. 

Note. — The author in his researches, discovered that the writer of 
the foregoing article, obtained his data from a comprehensive his- 
tory of the church written by a former clergyman, Dr. John H. 
Drunim, back in 1871. This history was read to the congregation 
by Dr. Drumm in July, 1871, and published in the "Bristol Observer" 
during the month of August in the same year. Should exception be 
taken to any of the statements made in the foregoing article, the 
author would suggest that permission can be obtained from Messrs. 
Gilkeson & James, who have in their possession the files of the 
"Bristol Observer," to read the copy of the original history as 
written by Dr. Drumm. The author has used the story from 
"Battle's History," because the fact of its having been written from 
data drawn from a history compiled by a former clergyman, seem- 
ingly vouches for its authenticity. 

An Interesting Reminiscence. — Among the many pleas- 
ing reminiscences of G. M. Dorrance is the following: 
"After the completion of the present Episcopal Church 
edifice in 1857, a son of Robert Tyler, was the first child 
christened in the new church. The water used in the ser- 
vice was brought from the river Jordan in Palestine. The 
Tylers lived on Radcliffe street in the residence now occu- 
pied by Joseph R. Grundy, and in celebration of the chris- 
tening, Mrs. Tyler gave a dinner to a number of friends." 

St. James' Graveyard. — South of the present church 
edifice lie the remains of the De Normandies. This family 
held feudal tenures in the province of Champagne, France, 
the title of the head of the house being Lord de la Motte. In 



56 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

1706, Andrew De Normandic and his two sons, John Abra- 
ham and John Anthony, came to America in the role of per- 
secuted Huguonots. The father died in 1724, and the head- 
stone raised over his mortal remains bears this inscription : 

Andrew De Normandie, 

Dyed ye 12th of Dec'er, 

1724. Aged 73 years. 

The sons, who in succession occupied the office of church 
warden, are interred on either side of their father. Near by 
the graves of this princely family is the resting place of 
Sarah Bullock, on whose gravestone is cut the family coat- 
of-arms, and beneath which is the following: 

Here lyeth the body of Sarah Bullock, 

mother of 

Thos. Sugar, of the City of Philadelphia, 

carpenter, who departed this life 

August i6th, 1734. Aged 34 years and six months. 

On the reverse side is rudely carved a skull and epitaph: 

Who e'er thou art, with tender heart, 

Stay, read and think of me. 
As thou art now so once was I, 

As I am now so shalt thou be. 

This is the second oldest stone, which is fully decipherable. 
To the right of the Landreth lot is a plain grave which is : 

Sacred to the memory of 

Antonin Furcy Piquet, 
Knight of the Order of St. Lewis, Capt. of the 
French Navy and Consul of France for the 
States of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and 
Maine. Born in France in the year 1777. Died 
in Bristol, August 31, 1815. Requiescat in 
pace. 

This gentleman carried in his body a bullet received in a 
duel in France. Alongside of his remains are interred 
those of his femme de charge. 

Another notable grave is that of Captain John Clark, of 
the British Troops, who. prior to the Revolution, settled in 
Bristol. At one time the captain was Worshipful Master of 
the Bristol Lodge of the Masonic Order. Directly north of 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 57 

the centre of the yard is the grave of Captain John Green, of 
the American Merchant Marine. Captain Green was the 
first to carry the American flag around the world and was 
the original importer of the Shanghai fowls. 

Near Green's grave is that of John Clark, Captain of the 
Tenth United Stated Infantry, who met his death in a duel 
with a quartermaster of his regiment. Ludwig, the infant 
son of Baron Ludwig Niedesteeter, and his Baroness Hor- 
tense, is buried near the centre of the yard. Among a score 
of stones worthy of mention are noted a marble in memory 
of Elizabeth, wife of William Hewson, F. P. S., Professor of 
Anatomy in the University of London. A small headstone 
bears the name of George Gillespie, who died in 1781, and 
was the grandfather of the Bishop of Western Michigan. 
The great English actor, Thomas Cooper, after being shame- 
fully driven from the London stage, ended his days in Bris- 
tol. He built a house on Radcliffe street and for several 
years served as a vestryman of this parish. At his decease 
he was interred in the parish graveyard. The lot is at pres- 
ent surrounded by an iron fence, the gate of which bears the 
simple inscription : 

Thomas Cooper. 

Not a stone's throw from the tomb of Cooper lies another 
representative of the English playhouses, John Henry, who in 
1784, was carried away by consumption. His remains are 
interred in a leaden casket which is surrounded by a brick 
vault. To the right of the main walk is the granite shaft 
raised in memory of David Landreth, the father of the seed 
industry in America. Farther on are the graves of Brigadier 
General Montgomery, graduate of West Point in 1814, and 
of Captain H. Clay Beatty. Rowland Stephenson, member 
of Parliament and a London banker, is, according to the 
records, interred somewhere in the graveyard. (From writ- 
ings by Mr. G. Morris Dorrance.) 



58 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



EPOCH III. 



From 1720, the Development Into a Borough, to 1775, the 
Beginning of the Revolutionary War. 

Introduction. — So rapid was the growth and develop- 
ment of the market town of Bristol, that in the lapse of about 
twenty years (1718), the townspeople then deemed it essen- 
tial to the interests of the place, that it should be erected into 
a borough- Whereupon, Anthony Burton, John Hall, Wil- 
liam Watson, Joseph Bond and others, petitioned the Colonial 
Government therefor. (Town Records.) A "unanimous 
opinion" was expressed in its favor ; and the petitioners were 
instructed to apply to their Attorney General for a suitable 
draft for that purpose, which they immediately did ; and 
having obtained one which appeared satisfactory to them, it 
was submitted to and approved by the Colonial Board on the 
loth of July, 1720. But it was not alone necessary to obtain 
the assent of the local government here, whose powers were 
exceedingly limited, but every important public measure was 
required to be submitted directly to the appropriation or 
sanction of the crown. A due return was received by the 
anxious expectants, with the necessary Letters Patent : bear- 
ing date of the 14th of November, 1720. Following is a 
brief synopsis of the corporate powers of this ancient grant. 

In the preamble is set forth : "George, by the grace of God, 
of Great Britain. France and Ireland. Defender of the Faith, 
etc.," to the petitioners — "formerly adventurers into the Pro- 
vince of Pennsylvania, and owners of a certain tract or site 
of land formerly called Buckingham, in the Countv of 
Bucks, did appropriate several of their lots, lying on the 
River Delaware, to build and settle upon." "And that many 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 59 

people since have been encouraged to erect buildings, lay out 
public streets, as also to erect a Church and Meetinghouse, 
and caused a Courthouse and Prison to be erected there. 
And we, being willing to promote trade, industry, rule, and 
good order, amongst all our loving subjects, have erected 
and by these presents do erect the said Town of Bristol into 
a borough." Then follow the courses and distances of the 
borough bounds ; the names and regulation of the streets as 
laid out ; reservation for wharves and landings ; Joseph Bond 
and John Hall to be present Burgesses, and Thomas Clifford, 
High Constable ; their power and duties ; H. Constable to be 
clerk of the market ; and fairs and markets established, and 
a general grant of franchise "unto the said Burgess, Con- 
stable, and Inhabitants, and to their successors." (Bache's 
History.) 

Election of Borough Officers. — The charter did not 
definitely specify anything about the legislative body, and as 
the earliest records are lost, w^e cannot tell what was the 
complete organization of the government, but it was prob- 
ably nearly the same as it was in 1832, when there was a 
common council of six, a constable, two burgesses, two asses- 
sors and a pound keeper. There was to be an annual election 
on a fixed day each year, when the officers were to be nomi- 
nated and elected by the "freeholders, officers and house- 
keepers of the borough-" The burgess first chosen, or having 
a majority of the votes in an election, was made the chief 
burgess or chief magistrate of the town. The other was 
styled the second burgess. They were empowered and 
authorized to be "conservators of the peace" within the bor- 
ough, and without any legal proceedings could remove 
nuisances and encroachments out of the streets and landing 
places. The officers were to be fined if they refused to serve. 
The fine was not to exceed ten pounds for the burgess and 
five for the constable. Before entering upon the duties of 
office each officer was to take an oath as prescribed by 
various acts of Parliament ; Friends were exempt from 
oaths and qualified by "taking and subscribing the attesta- 
tions or engagements" especially allowed to them. 



60 A HISTORY OF BRISTOI. BOROUGH. 

The chief burgess was obliged to go to Philadelphia with- 
in five days after the election to be qualified before the 
governor or such person as his excellency might appoint for 
the purpose. The chief burgess could then qualify the other 
officers, or it could be done by any two justices of the peace 
in the county. The chief burgess was a justice of the peace 
in the county as well as in the borough, as was customary 
in England at that time. It was the same with the chief 
burgess in the other boroughs of Pennsylvania, but it seems 
to have been objectionable and the law requiring them to be 
justices in the counties was repealed by legislation before 
many boroughs were created. The high constable of Bristol 
was made the clerk of the market and could have "assize of 
bread, wine, beer, wood and other things." It was lawful for 
the burgesses and constables to summon and assemble town 
meetings whenever they thought it advisable. At these meet- 
ings ordinances, rules and by-laws might be passed if not 
repugnant to the laws of Great Britain, and citizens could 
repeal or amend the same. Fines could also be imposed for 
violations of ordinances. 

The Town Meeting. — The inhabitants of Bristol seem 
to have put a different interpretation upon the expression 
"town meeting" from that of other boroughs. The town 
meeting in Bristol was nothing but the meeting of town 
council, burgesses and high constable and sometimes one or 
two other officers, as the pound keeper. This is shown from 
the borough records, which for many years called all council 
meetings, "town meetings." Provision was made in most of 
the early borough charters for town meetings in the sense of 
popular assemblies of the people, but they were only called 
on special occasions when an important tax was to be laid 
or a charter to be amended, or some other unusual measure 
was to be considered. As recently as 1872, at a council 
meeting in Bristol, so many of the citizens were present that 
they resolved themselves into a town meeting to discuss the 
question of an amendment to the charter. 

Borough Taxes. — The rate of taxes for borough pur- 
poses was fixed by the council. In 17.'^.'^. the tax levied was 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 6l 

two pence per pound on all estates and six shillings a head 
for all single men. In 1745, at a time of much expense to 
the town, the legislature fixed the limit of taxation at three 
pence a pound. Borough finances were not then so import- 
ant as now. It was in the days before the public schools. 
The wants of our forefathers were simpler than now, and 
the old town pump answered in place of costly waterworks. 
The principal items of expense were for the repair and care 
of the streets which were under the supervision of the bur- 
gess and council. The taxes of the town were assessed by 
two assessors elected by the people- After their work was 
done, the council and burgesses set a day for hearing appeals 
and then rectified any errors. The elections were not always 
what the citizens desired, for they were obliged to change 
the place of voting to a private house to avoid disturbances. 

Bristol Visited By a Great Fire. — Davis' History of 
Bucks County, says : "What is spoken of as a 'great fire,' 
broke out in Bristol in 1724, but the value of the property 
destroyed is not known. The Friends at Abington raised 
money for the relief of the suflferers." Some idea of the 
size of the town in the early part of the centurv. beginning 
with 1700, can be gleaned from Oldmixon's memoirs, in 
which he tells of his visit to the town in 1708, and speaks 
of it as the capital of Bucks County, containing fifty houses. 
Its growth and development following the fire must have 
been slow, for we find in 1784, Bristol had but forty-five 
dwellings, while in 1790, Scott's Gazetteer says it contained 
fifty dwellings. Another authority puts down the dwellings 
at ninety. In either event, its growth during the fifty years, 
which intervened, from the time of the fire, until it began 
to gain prominence as a fashionable watering place, was 
decidedly slow. 

Daniel Boone Born in Bristol Township. — Daniel 

Boone, the great hunter and pioneer of the west, is thought 
to have been born in Bristol Township. The Boones were in 
the county early. In 1728 we find that Squire Boone, a 
weaver, purchased 140 acres in New Britain Township, of 
Thomas Shute, of Philadelphia. Solomon "Boon" or 



62 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

"Boom" lived in Bristol Township before 1743, and died 
between the i6th and 20th of December of that year, leaving 
sons Ralph, Joseph and Solomon, and daughter Elizabeth- 
In 1745, Solomon was a signer to a petition to the court to 
lay out a road from his plantation to Bristol. These Boones 
were probably of the lineage of Daniel. George Boone, the 
grandfather of Daniel, immigrated with his wife and eleven 
children, from Exeter, England, in 1717; settled on the 
banks of the Delaware, where he purchased a tract of land. 
His son. Squire Boone, was married to Sarah Morgan in 
September, 1720, and their son, Daniel, the great pioneer, 
was born October 28th, 1734. When about ten years of age, 
his father removed with his family to Berks county, near 
Reading, then a frontier settlement, where Daniel became an 
expert hunter. When sixteen or eighteen years of age the 
family went to North Carolina, and settled on the Yadkin. 
From a"bout this time we date his great exploits as a hunter 
and frontiersman, and his career is too well known to need 
repeating here. No other Bucks Countian of the last century 
became so famous. He died in Missouri, September 26th, 
1822. We do not think there is any doubt about Daniel 
Boone being a native of Bucks County, although the location 
of his birthplace may not be entirely accurate. At the time 
of his death, the newspapers of Missouri, published in the 
vicinity of his home, stated that he was born in Bucks Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, about 1730. William Stewart, son of 
Charles Stewart, who lived and died in Upper Wakefield, who 
was brought up in that township, and accompanied Daniel 
Boone on his second visit to Kentucky, and was killed at the 
battle of Blue Licks, declared in his Kfetime, that he was a 
schoolmate of Boone, and his descendents assert it to this 
day. 

The Golden Age, — During the quarter of a century from 
1735 to 1760, times were so prosperous that it was called the 
"golden age," and was decreed . the happiest period since 
the settlement of the province. Industry, fertile fields and 
favorable seasons blessed the farmer's labors with large in- 
crease, but while riches sensibly increased, the people Jived 
without any appearance oi luxury. Good dwellings and 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 63 

comfortable barns had been built, and comforts and con- 
veniences were added by degrees, but dress and furniture 
were plain. The wooden trencher and pewter spoon were 
used by the most wealthy, and simplicity prevailed every- 
where. For pastime men hunted and fished, while the women, 
who married young and raised large families of children, 
were principally occupied with household duties. During the 
"golden age," a grand religious festival, lasting three days, 
was held at the Wrightstown meeting-house, to give thanks 
for the bounties of Providence. People came to it from a 
long distance, and were known to travel ten or twelve miles 
on foot to attend it. The intercourse with Philadelphia was 
then limited, and the luxuries of the cities had not found 
their way into the country. 

House of Correction. — At the first provincial assembly 
held at Philadelphia, in March, 1683, a hovise of correction 
was ordered for each countf, 24 x 16 feet, that for Bucks 
being located at Bristol. The poor who received relief from 
the county with their families, were obliged to wear the letter 
P, made of red or blue cloth, with the first letter of the name 
of the place they inhabited, in a conspicuous place upon the 
shoulder of the right sleeve. In that dav. it seems the un- 
fortunate poor had no rights the authorities were bound to 
respect. 

The workhouse (house of correction), was not erected 
until 1722, and was replaced by a new one in 1745. Its 
building was authorized by act of as^sembly of February 22, 
1718, to be built at the expense of the county within three 
years, to be managed by a president, treasurer and assist- 
ants, and not more than £100 were to be raised yearly for its 
support. As the house was not built within the three years 
specified, it must have been erected under a subsequent act 
By act of March i, 1745, the common council of Bristol was 
authorized to erect a workhouse in the town, which is prob- 
ably the one which stood on Beaver Street near Garden and 
for years was the home of Richard Corson. Recently (1910) 
the land was purchased by the Barrett Brothers for the 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company and the old building 
torn down. 



64 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

The First Stage Wagons. — A line of stage wagons was 
established in 1732 between Amboy and Burlington by 
Thomas Moore and Solomon Smith. New York and Phil- 
adelphia were the objective points, and terminal connec- 
tions were made with both places by sailing vessels. 
Bordentown was the terminal point of a rival line in 1734, 
and in 1751 the boats to both places were controlled by 
Borden, Richards, Wright and others. In 1745 John 
Dalley, surveyor, stated that he had just made survey of 
the road from Trenton to Amboy, and had set up marks at 
every two miles to guide the traveler. It was done by 
private subscription, and he proposed to do the whole 
road from Philadelphia to New York in the same way if a 
sum would be made up. The proposed improvement of 
the road below Trenton was not effected ; hence the fact 
that the stage wagons went no further beyond that point 
than was necessary to conveniently meet the packets. 
Joseph Borden, Jr., in 1753, was running a "stage boat" 
from Philadelphia to Bordentown, from whence the jour- 
ney to Amboy was continued by "stage wagon." This 
was claimed to be the most expeditious route in operation 
at that time. It does not appear that John Dalley sur- 
veyed the road between Trenton and Philadelphia ; but it 
was much improved at various times, and those interested 
in the stage business began to consider whether a wagon 
might not compete in time with the packet between the 
city and Trenton. At this time there were a number of 
gentlemen of sporting proclivities at Philadelphia who 
indulged in fox hunting. They kept a famous kennel of 
hounds, with John Butler as keeper. He was greatly in 
favor with his employers ; and when it became necessary 
to disperse the kennel because the country became so 
thickly settled as to interfere with their sport, they 
established him in business as the proprietor of a stage 
wagon. He at once instituted a new departure, and prac- 
tically demonstrated the superior speed of his vehicle as 
compared with that of the packet. Leaving the "Sign of 
the Death of the Fox," the favorite resort of his former 
patrons, his route followed the west bank of the Dela- 
ware, crossed that stream at Trenton, and thence pro- 
ceeded to Amboy. His journey to New York required 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOI, BOROUGH. 65 

three days. This was the first stage route through Bris- 
tol, and Bucks County, as well. 

It enjoyed a monopoly in this respect during the fol- 
lowing ten years. An opposition line over the same route 
was established in 1765, in which four owners were con- 
cerned. They introduced covered Jersey wagons, and 
reduced the fare to two pence a mile, but did not reduce 
the time of the journey, which was still three days. A 
third line between the two cities was established in 1766 
by John Barnhill. He improved the stage wagon by plac- 
ing the seats on springs, and also the speed of his vehicles, 
which traversed the distance from Elm Street, near Vice, 
in Philadelphia, by way of the ''Blazing Star" Ferry, to 
Amboy in two days. This achievement was without a 
precedent in the previous history of staging, and secured 
for his wagons the modest title of "Flying Machines." In 
1773 Charles Bessonett engaged in the business, and 
speedily rendered his the most popular coaches on the 
road. He regarded the ferry over the Neshaminy a great 
obstacle to rapid transit, and that it might be obviated, 
secured from the legislature, in 1785, authority to lay out 
a private road between the sixteenth milestones of what is 
now the Frankford and Bristol Turnpike, construct a 
ferry or bridge over the creek, and collect tolls for the use 
of the same. The approaches for a floating bridge and 
rope ferry were constructed, but when nearly completed 
a violent flood destroyed the most expensive portion of 
the work, entailing serious loss upon the projector. The 
remains of the abutments are still seen about half a mile 
above Bridgewater. Graham Johnson was associated with 
Mr. Bessonnett in this enterprise, and like him was a 
veteran stage manager. 

The Rev. George Whitfield Visits Bristol. — On May 
7, 1745, the Rev. George Whitefield, whose coming to 
America in 1739, gave a new impetus to the religious 
enthusiasm already prevailing, crossed the river from 
Burlington to Bristol, where he preached to about four 
hundred people, and then returned to Philadelphia. At 
this time Whitefield is described as "of middle stature, 
slender body, fair complexion, comely appearance and 



66 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



extremely bashful and modest. His delivery was warm 
and affectionate, and his gestures natural, and the most 
beautiful imaginable." He had a loud and clear voice, 
and articulated his words so perfectly that he might be 
heard and understood at a great distance. 

Bristol's Hotels. — The late William Kinsey in a news- 
paper article written in 1885, gives the following inter- 
esting account of Bristol's first hotels : 

"A history of the hotels in Bristol will show that the 
number of licensed houses now are the same as in the 




HOTEL CLOSSON. 



year 1748. The old borough records show that Patrick 
Hanlon kept the ferry house at the foot of Mill street 
as early as 1730. The records at Doylestown show that 
the first petition for license to keep a public house in 
Bristol was presented by Thomas Brock, in 1705. As a 
recommendation he states that he has resided in the 
county for a number of years, and had been engaged in 
keeping a public house. In 1728, the records show that 
Henry Betz, James Moore and Evan Harris applied for 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 67 

license to keep public houses in Bristol. The petitions do 
not give the names of the houses for which licenses were 
asked. In 1768 the records show that licenses were 
granted to the following persons to keep hotels in Bristol : 
Mrs. Rachel Jackson, located in Bath street, on the site 
now occupied by the Clossen House; Robert Reese, to 
keep the Rising Sun, in Mill Street, on the site now occu- 
pied by the brick dwelling owned by J. and A. Dorrance ; 
John Dowdney, to keep the King of Prussia, corner of 
Mill and Pond Streets (now the Bell property) ; Charles 
Bessonett, George the Third, at the foot of Mill Street, 
now the Delaware House. 

In 1785, Archibald McElroy built the Cross Keys and 
kept one of the best houses of entertainment in the bor- 
ough. In 1839 it was sold by the Sheriff and bought by 
David Swain, who altered it into two dwelling houses 
now owned by Mrs. A. Weir Gilkeson and the Presby- 
terian Church, as a parsonage. 

In 1790, the Rising Sun having been sold to the Bristol 
Mills for a private residence, John Baldwin petitioned the 
court for a license to keep a hotel on the opposite side of 
the street, now the Railroad House. I do not recollect 
the name of the hotel in its early days. In 181 5 it was 
called the General Brown, after the distinguished Major 
General Brown, of the U. S. A., who was born in Bucks 
County, of Quaker parentage, in 1775. 

In 1824 Gilbert Mitchell applied for license to keep 
a public house in the building torn down to make room 
for the Patton House (now Rommell Hotel), at the foot 
of Mill street. It was a failure and was closed by sheriff's 
sale in less than two years after it was licensed. 

In 1838 Benjamin Blinn opened a temperance house in 
the building later occupied as the Cottage Hotel. It was 
short lived ; like all other temperance hotels opened in 
Bucks County, it died for want of patronage. It was 
afterwards licensed and is now the Silbert House. 

In 1854 Archibald Vanhorn petitioned the court for a 
license to keep a public house in Bath Street. There was 
a strong remonstrance against granting the license, but 
he succeeded and opened the Farmers' Hotel ; in 1857 it 
was sold and is now occupied as a private residence. 



68 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

In 1857 William Earley applied to the court for license 
to open a public house on the corner of Mill and Bath 
Streets, to be called the Exchange Hotel, now the Clos- 
son House. There was a numerously signed remon- 
strance against granting the license, but he succeeded in 
making the court believe the hotel was necessary for the 
accommodation of the boatmen on the canal. 

Since the year 1705, there has been established and 
licensed by the courts ten public hotels, the oldest of 
which is the Delaware House, originally George the 
Second, opened in 1765. The Bath, kept by Mr. Minick, 
as a boarding house, also had license to sell liquor. 

The Fairs. — The charter of the borough authorized the 
holding of fairs ; the time fixed was two days in the 
month of May, and three in October. They were to be 
under the direction of Burgess, and were held in Mar- 
ket and Cedar Streets. It was a great day in Bristol 
when the time arrived for opening the fairs. People of 
all classes and from all parts of the surrounding country, 
came to sell their wares and others to purchase and have 
a frolic. Booths were erected on Cedar and Market Streets by 
the borough and rented to persons having goods to sell. The 
young men came on horse back in their shirt sleeves with 
their sweethearts behind them, their coats tied behind 
the saddle, in which was a pair of thm-soled shoes for 
dancing. The girls wore two pairs of stockings, the 
inner pair were white and the outer ones of colored yarns 
to protect them from getting soiled. Previous to com- 
mencing a dance, the outer ones were taken off. There 
were several dance houses in that day, some of which 
were continued for many years. Negro slaves were 
allowed by their masters to attend on the last day of the 
fair, when they came together in droves and had a grand 
jubilee. The dances differed in those days from the pres- 
ent mode of skipping over the floor. Jigs, Virginia reels, 
hip seesaws and the grand old dance, huggin' snug, were 
the most prominent. Jigs were danced by two persons 
to the tune of the devil's hornpipe. Good dancers could 
repeat the tune with their feet. Huggin' snug was a 
dance in which eight persons were engaged, equally 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 69 

divided between male and female. They arranged them- 
selves on the floor in a square, and danced to each other 
to the tune of "The Girl I Left Behind Me." When the 
fiddler would call out reel, they would clasp each other 
around the waist and go round in a circle at great speed, 
three or four times, then again form the square and dance 
on. This was an affectionate dance, very popular with 
the old and young. 

In the course of time the fairs became very unpopular, 
the lawlessness and crime engendered at these popular 
gatherings at last became so great, that on the loth of 
November, 1773, the burgess and council resolved that 
the fair was useless on account of the large number of 
stores, and that the "debauchery, idleness and drunken- 
ness consequent on the meeting of the lowest class of 
people together is a real evil, and calls for redress." They 
had no authority, however, to abolish them, as they were 
granted in the charter, so the legislature was applied to, 
and the relief asked for was given in 1796. 

Bristol in 1748. — In the fall of 1748, Professor Peter 
Kalm, a distinguished foreigner from Sweden, traveled 
through the lower part of Bucks County, enroute from 
Philadelphia to New York. He crossed the Neshaminy 
by ferrying, paying three pence for each person and his 
horse, and continuing up the river, he says : "About noon 
we came to (New) Bristol, a small town in Pennsylvania, 
on the bank of the Delaware, about fifteen English miles 
from Philadelphia. Most of the houses are built of stone, 
and stand asunder. The inhabitants carry on a small 
trade, though most of them get their goods from Phila- 
delphia. On the opposite side of the river, almost 
directly opposite Bristol, lies the town of Burlington." 

Improved Style in Living. — The war between France 
and England, in 1754, changed the situation of things in 
several respects. A more plentiful supply of money 
stimulated trade and improvements, and raised prices. 
Wheat went up to a dollar a bushel. Taxes were raised 
to pay ofif the war debt, but the burden was not felt, be- 
cause of the increased ability to pay. The importation of 
foreign goods was largely increased, and many luxuries 



70 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

were brought into the country, among which were cali- 
coes and Other expensive articles for women and men's 
wear. Fashion now intruded itself among the rural 
population, to change with each year, and household 
furniture was increased in quantity and improved in 
quality. With this improved style in living and taste in 
dress, was introduced the distinction between rich and 
poor, which grew up almost insensibly, and was main- 
tained with considerable rigor in colonial times. Those 
who had the means now bought foreign goods, and 
homespun was discarded. Habits of luxury were thus 
introduced, and the simple, but virtuous society of our 
ancestors split upon the rock of fashion. Bristol was at 
this time a thriving market town, and being the port of 
entry for foreign goods, for all the surrounding country, 
was susceptible to this new condition in society. 

William Mcllvane and Alexander Graydon. — The 

ancient records show that in 1752, a conveyance was 
made by William Whittaker and wife, to Alexander 
Graydon and William Mcllvane, for a tract of 1,000 acres 
of land, which embraced all of the eastern section of the 
borough, having a frontage of 217 perches on the river. 
A part of the tract which is now covered by the mills, 
was meadow land and considered in those days the most 
valuable part of the farm. It was the opinion of farmers 
that grass could not be grown on upland, and it, there- 
fore, was necessary to have a poriiion of meadow to raise 
grass to feed the cattle in summer and winter. Clover 
and timothy seed were not introduced into the country 
until a later date. 

The Mcllvanes were among the earliest settlers in 
Bristol, and was a family of wealth and influence. Wil- 
liam Mcllvane practiced medicine in Bristol before he 
removed to Philadelphia. His father sent him to Edin- 
burg, Scotland, to complete his education in the science 
of medicine. He returned to Bristol and was dis- 
tinguished for his talents, integrity and zeal. The old 
tax records show that he was assessed for sixty ounces 
of silver ware, being the owner of more than one-half the 
silver owned bv all the other inhabitants. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 7I 

Alexander Graydon was a prominent citizen and re- 
lated to the Mcllvanes by marriage. He wrote the his- 
tory of Bristol, in 1756, in which he says: 

"The great road leading from Philadelphia to New 
York, skirting the inlet at the head of which stands the 
mills, and thence turning short to the left along the 
Delaware, formed the principal street, called Mill Street, 
120 perches long and three perches wide. This was the 
only street marked by a continuity of buildings. A few 
other streets were opened from the main one, on which 
here and there stood an humble dwelling." 

He says at a corner of one of these streets stood a 
Quaker meeting house, and at a remote spot a small 
Episcopal Church, "whole lonely graveyard with its sur- 
rounding woody scenery, might have furnished an appro- 
priate theme for such a muse as Gray's. These, together 
with an old brick jail, constitute all the public edifices 
of this, my native town." 

Captain Graydon, the author of this early sketch of 
Bristol, was the son of an Irishman who came to this 
country about 1730. His mother, the daughter of a 
Barbadoes merchant, was a native of Frankfort-on-the- 
Main, and he was born in Bristol the loth of April, 1732. 
At his father's death his mother removed to Philadelphia 
and opened a boarding house, the resort of the leading 
colonial worthies of the day. When the Revolution broke 
out, young Graydon espoused the cause of the colonies, 
and was appointed a captain in Colonel John Shee's 
Pennsylvania Regiment, in January, 1776. He recruited 
for his company at Attleborough, Newtown and New- 
hope. He was made prisoner at Fort Washington, and 
exchanged at the end of two years, but did not re-enter 
the military service. After the war, he was appointed 
Prothonotary of Dauphin County, and died there. He 
was a gentleman of culture and ability, and maintained 
a good position in society. At the time of which Captain 
Graydon wrote, all the inhabitants of Bristol were 
Friends, with the exception of the De Normandies and 
two or three other families. 

In writing about this tract of land, owned by Mcllvaine 
and Graydon, the late William Kinsey gave the following 



y2. A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

interesting reminiscence. "My mind reverts back to my 
boyhood days, when a part of this tract lying on the river 
front, between Walter Laing's residence and Hollow 
Creek, was covered with heavy pine timber, in the midst 
of which stood a small house occupied by a half-blood 
Indian, who went by the name of Sambo, and his wife, 
who professed to be a conjuror and fortune teller. Many 
were the lads and lassies who went there to have their 
fortunes told. Aunt Judy, as she was called, was a 
mulatto, and straight as an arrow, thin lips and piercing 
black eyes. She professed to point out to any one who 
would pay her a small charge, what their fortune would 
be, for weal or woe, by the use of a pack of cards. She 
would shuffle the cards and request you to cut them. If 
the first card she turned up happened to be a Queen, then 
you would be sure to marry a woman of wealth and 
beauty. If it should be a King, then the girl would marry 
a man of wealth and influence and she would be a great 
lady. The Seven of Clubs for men and the Ten of Hearts 
for women, were lucky cards. Diamonds were sure to 
indicate early and happy marriages. If it happened to be 
spades, then your life would be one of sorrow and dis- 
appointment. Happily those days of superstition and 
necromancy have passed away." 

Bristol College. — On the banks of the Delaware, three 
miles below Bristol, stands what is known as Bristol 
College. About 1778, the farm belonged to one Benger, 
an Irish sporting gentleman, who imported the famous 
horse Messenger, which he purchased of a brother of the 
Duke of York. It was then called Benger's Mount. He 
sold it to Andreas Evarandus Van Braam Honchgust, 
the governor of an East India island, who retired to this 
country on the island being taken by the British. He erected 
an elegant mansion and called it China Retreat. The 
marble used in the construction of this building was 
brought up the river by Samuel Hibbs, of Bensalem, in 
a shallop. In 1798 he sold the property, containing 361 
acres and thirty perches, to Captain Walter Sims, for 
£10,706, whose father-in-law. Captain John Green, who 
lived on the Roberts' farm, near Newportville,was the first 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 73 

American sea captain who carried our flag to China. He 
made the round trip in about a year, passing through the 
straits of Sunda. He was also the first to import a full 
set of chinaware direct from China into the United States 
about 1772, and to import Shanghai chickens, from a 
cross with which comes our celebrated Bucks County 
chickens. Captain Green died in 1797, and was buried 
in Saint James' Churchyard, Bristol. China retreat 
was turned into a seat of learning in 1833, and organized 
as Bristol College, with the Rev. Chauncey Colton, D. 
D., president, and under the patronage of the Episcopal 
Church. Additional buildings were erected, and at one 
time as many as eighty or one hundred students were in 
attendance. It ran its course in a few years, and was 
succeeded by a classical school. In 1842 the late Captain 
Alden Partridge, one of the earliest superintendents at 
West Point, opened a military school in the China Re- 
treat Building, which was kept up for about three years. 
During the late civil war the buildings were occupied as 
a military hospital, and later were used for a state school 
for the education of colored soldiers' orphans. Subse- 
quently the land was used as a picnic grounds and known 
as College Park. Today the property is occupied as a 
private residence. 

His Majesty's Troops Visit Bristol. — Bristol, lying on 
the great highway, was frequently before the Revolution, 
visited by bodies of troops. The old records say, that in 
1757) two hundred troops of His Majesty, King George, 
were billetted on the inhabitants. The bill for their ex- 
penses was presented to the county commissioners for 
payment. They refused to pay and the borough had to 
meet the expense. 

George the Second — Now Delaware House. — In 1765, 
Charles Bessonett built the George the Second Hotel, 
now the Delaware House, on the site of the Ferry House, 
and was kept by him for many years. After his death his 
son John succeeded him, of whom it is said he was never 
known to drink a glass of liquor. This was a famous 
house in its early days. It had the reputation of being 



74 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



one of the best hotels between Philadelphia and New 
York. In the summer season it would be taxed to its 
utmost capacity to accommodate the people who came to 
Bristol from all parts of the country for the benefit of the 
Bath spring- waters. 




DELAWARE HOUSE. 

During the Revolutionary War, a company of Yankee 
troops arrived in Bristol and encamped in the wood on 
the farm owned by James Rogers. It was afterwards 
called the Yankee woods. The next day they marched 
into town ; when they came to the King of Prussia at the 
corner of Mill and Pond streets, they gave three cheers. 
The landlord called them in and treated, being pleased 
with the compliment. They marched down the street to 
Bessonett's Hotel, an seeing the sign of King George the 
Second, they commenced to fire at it, and did not stop 
until it fell out of its frame. After the war Mr. Bessonett 
erected a new sign representing a fountain. It was much 
admired in its day. This is the oldest public house in 
Bristol. 

Charles Bessonett. — Mr. Bessonett came from France 
and settled in Bristol as early as 1730. He was a brick 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 75 

layer by tracie and built many houses in Bristol, making 
his bricks on the lot now occupied by the Leedom mills. 
He built the George the Second Hotel, now the Dela- 
ware House, in 1765, and in 1773 started a stage coach 
line between Philadelphia and New York. In his adver- 
tisement to the public he says : "Unparalleled speed. 
From Philadelphia to New York in two days, fare $4.00. 
Comfort and safety assured." The return of the asses- 
sors for the year 1785, show that he was assessed for one 
building, sixteen horses, two cattle, one bound servant, 
three negro slaves, two stage wagons, one ferry and his 
occupation, upon which he paid a tax of £3 i shilling, 
being the largest tax payer in the borough. His three 
slaves were valued at iioo. At the time of his death he 
left five children, John, James, Charles, Daniel and Mary, 
with a large and valuable real estate, not a foot of which 
is now in possession of any of his descendants. 

Market House. — The building of a market house was 
broached at the town meeting held in September, 1753. A 
year later it was unanimously agreed that a market house 
for the use of the borough should be erected in the middle 
of Mill Street, opposite Cedar. The market house was 
not erected, however, until 1768. It took fourteen years 
of talking and wrangling before the building was erected 
at a cost of £28, 13s. 6d. A storm blew the market house 
down in the fall in 1773, and in April, 1774, John and 
Charles Bessonett were given the contract to rebuild it 
in the same place. In 1790 the market house was moved 
to the centre of the square formed by the intersection of 
Market and Cedar Streets. The old building was torn 
down about 1871. 

A Distinguished Friend. — James Thornton, a dis- 
tinguished minister among Friends, passed several years 
of his life in Bristol. He was born at Stony-Stratford, in 
Buckinghamshire, England, in 1727, and landed in Phila- 
delphia in 1760. He afterward married and settled in 
Byberry, where he spent the remainder of his life, and 
died there June 24, 1794, in his sixty-seventh year. 
6 



"J^i A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Anti-Revolutionary Houses. — Several houses of the 
anti-revolutionary period survived the condition of 
society under which they were built, and have only been 
demolished within the last twenty-five years. Of the 
three oldest, one, a brick building, was situated at the 
foot of Wood Street, on land formerly owned by John 
McGinley. It was occupied at one time by William 
Davis, a shipbuilder, who built some of the fastest sailing 
vessels of his day. Another old house, which was demol- 
ished in the year 1887, was that of Mrs. Closson, adjoin- 
ing the Hotel Closson, on Bath Street. It must have 
been a house of some note, for the assessed valuation as 
given in an old record, was £350, the highest sum 
assessed upon any of the fifty-three houses in Bristol in 
that day. Mr. John Gosline, chief burgess for many 
years, a large land owner and prominent Free Mason, 
lived here at the beginning of the last century. The 
house now owned by John McOwen, in Mill Street, is 
thought to have been one of the first brick buildings 
erected in the borough. These three houses are supposed 
to have been built prior to 1720. Among other old build- 
ings are the Friends' meeting house, at the corner of 
Market and Wood Streets, erected in 1713, and the house 
of Richard Corson, which was built in 1745, as a work- 
house, on the Beaver Dam Road, and recently demol- 
ished by the Barrett Brothers. The oldest hotel in Bris- 
tol is the Delaware House. It was originally opened as 
the "George the Second," in 1765, by Charles Bessonett, 
a Frenchman, who settled in Bristol in 1730. 

Repairs to Streets. — Mention of repairing the streets 
occurs in the records at an early period, and it appears 
that as early as 1769, half the money realized from fines, 
was applied to this purpose. In March, 1798, Mill Street 
was declared to be impassable, and a number of the in- 
habitants subscribed a sum of money for its repair. No 
systematic efforts in the direction of permanent improve- 
ment were made until recent years, beginning with 1856, 
when Dorrance Street was paved, curbed and graded by 
order of council. This treatment has since been extended 
to other highways in the borough, and few towns in the 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



77 



state are more likely to impress the observer more favor- 
ably in this respect. 

Bristol Methodist Episcopal Church. — About the year 
1771, Captain Webb, a local preacher, while on his way 
from New York to Philadelphia, stopped in Bristol and 
preached to the people, assembled under a tree that stood 
on the lot upon which the old Methodist Episcopal 
Church, now Pythian Hall, on Wood Street, was subse- 
quently erected. This is the earliest record of Method- 
ism in Bristol and was apparently its introduction. On a 
later occasion, while on a visit to Burlington, N. J., Cap- 




OLD METHODIST CIiruCH, WOOD STREET. NOW PV'l'HTAN HAI.I,. 

tain Webb crossed the river and preached to the people 
in his regimentals, being an officer in the British army, 
which action caused much criticism on the part of some 
of his hearers as to the consistency of a man preaching a 
"gospel of peace and good will to men" in the habiliments 
of war.' Webb was licensed to preach before he came to 
America, by Mr. Wesley. Captain Webb was stationed 
at Albany, N. Y., and afterward at Trenton, N. J. He was 
at the battle of Louisburg, and while with General Wolf 



78 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH, 

at the siege of Quebec, on the Plains of Abraham, was 
wounded and lost one eye. It is said of him "he was 
faithful to his God and loyal to his king." He was ar- 
rested at Burlington, N. J., in May, 1777, and taken to 
Philadelphia to answer to the charge of being a spy. He 
was, however, ordered to Bethlehem and shortly after 
was discharged. Subsequently he returned to England, 
resigned his commission in the army and was a faithful 
preacher until God called him to his reward in the year 
1796. John Adams, President of the United States, heard 
him preach in St. George's Church in Philadelphia. After- 
ward, in conversation with some of his friends, he said : 
"He was one of the most eloquent men I have ever 
heard." 

Bristol Circuit was formed September 10, 1788, and 
embraced that part of Northern Pennsylvania, lying be- 
tween the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers and 
between the Philadelphia county line and the Pocono 
Mountains. William Dougherty was appointed by the 
bishop, preacher in charge of the circuit. He visited 
Bristol and found a number who had been awakened by 
the preaching of Captain Webb, and others who had 
followed him. He organized a class of eleven persons 
among whom were Mary Connor, Francis Stackhouse, 
his wife Priscilla ; Richard Gosline, his wife Mary; Job 
Stackhouse, his wife Rebecca ; William Kinsey, his wife 
Catharine ; Joseph Stackhouse and his wife. Public 
meetings were held in the upper room of the old court- 
house on Cedar Street, and prayer and class meetings in 
private houses, until the year 1802, when the Society, 
having increased in numbers, it was found necessary to 
have a larger and more convenient place to hold their 
meetings. It was decided to build a place of worship and 
Mary Connor was authorized to solicit funds. Her efiforts 
on this occasion justly entitled her to the honor 
of founding the church. The ground upon which Webb 
had preached his first sermon was purchased of Colonel 
Joseph Clunn and Mary, his wife, for the sum of £25. The 
work progressed so far that the materials were collected 
and money placed in the hands of the treasurer sufficient 
for their payment, when he defaulted. He had spent the 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 79 

money and could not replace it. He was dealt with and 
expelled. It was a sad blow to the little Society. Many 
of them were discouraged and ready to give up. But 
Mary Connor did not believe in giving up. Her motto 
was : "Trust in the Lord," and she believed they would 
succeed in building a house for the people of God to wor- 
ship in. She succeeded in raising sufficient money to build 
a brick church, twenty-four by forty feet, one story high. 
The church was finished in 1803 and dedicated by Rev, 
Harry Buchin, amid the rejoicing of a happy people, clear 
of debt. After the dedication of the church, there was 
preaching once in two weeks, at nights. The Society 
continued faithful, holding their prayer and class meet- 
ings regularly. In 1825, under the preaching of Edward 
Stout and Samuel Grace, many joined the church. In 
1827, a revival took place ; seventy persons were con- 
verted and joined the church, among whom was the late 
William Kinsey, a grandson of one of the early founders 
of the church. In consequence of this large addition to 
the membership, it was found necessary to enlarge the 
church building. Through the efforts of Mrs. Mary Ann 
Johnson, a zealous Christian lady in the church, the sum 
of $600 was raised. Twenty feet were added and the seat- 
ing capacity increased. After the enlargement an ar- 
rangement was made with the Association of Local 
Preachers of Philadelphia, among whom were many 
eminent men, to supply the pulpit on Sabbath mornings. 
In 1840 a division was made in the circuit; Bristol, 
Bustleton and Holmesburg were united into one charge. 
In 1843 another change was made in the circuit ; Bristol, 
Bensalem and Neshaminy were made one charge. 

During the pastorate of the Rev. Joseph Aspril, in 1844, 
the old church was torn down and a new one, forty by 
sixty feet, two stories high, was built on the same ground, 
at a cost of $7,000, and was dedicated by the Rev. John 
Kenneday, D. D., in 1845. In 1849 another change was 
made in the circuit; Bensalem and Neshaminy were 
added to Attleborough Circuit and Bristol became a 
separate charge. Under the pastorate of the Rev. Wil- 
liam McCombs, in 185 1, a debt of $1,300 was cancelled 
and the next year a parsonage was erected adjoining the 



8o A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 

church property, at a cost of $2,700. During the pastor- 
ate of the Rev. George W. MacLaughlin, in 1859, a won- 
derful revival took place and the church membership was 
greatly augmented. 

In 1888, under the pastorate of the Rev. S. T. Kemble, 
the centennial anniversary of the church was celebrated. 
The celebration lasted for one week, beginning on Sun- 
day, November 11, and lasting until the Sunday follow- 
ing. The Rev. E. E. Burriss was appointed in 1891. He 
organized the Senior Epworth League and also the 
Junior organization. During his third year a great re- 
vival took place, as a result of which nearly 200 names 
were added to the church roll. The following year the 
formulating of plans for the building of a new edifice was 
begun. 

Among the many deeds of kindness shown by mem- 
bers of this denomination to strangers, was one to a Mrs. 
Carson, of Philadelphia, who visited Bristol with her two 
daughters, for the benefit of the mineral waters at Bath 
Springs. One of them died. The trustees of the church 
offered her a place of burial in the churchyard. Some 
time after the other daughter died, and the mother re- 
quested permission to lay her remains by the side of her 
sister, which was granted. Some years later the mother 
died. On examination of her will, it was found that she 
desired to be buried by the side of her daughters, and had 
devised all her estate, consisting of valuable property 
at the corner of Twelfth and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia, 
to the Methodist Church of Bristol, upon the death of 
two relatives, to whom she had granted a life right. 

When the new church enterprise was in its incipiency, 
an effort was made to purchase the life right of the sur- 
viving heirs, which was finally accomplished by the pay- 
ment of about $5,000. When the property was finally 
sold the church received $12,000. The lot at the corner 
of Mulberry and Cedar Streets, known as the Rousseau 
property, was purchased and it was decided to erect the 
new church edifice at the intersection of Mulberry and 
Wilson Streets. The Rev. Burriss, having finished his 
fourth year, accepted a call from the Memorial M. E. 
Church of Philadelphia, and was succeeded by the Rev. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 8l 

Chas. H. Rorer. Plans and specifications were so quickly 
drawn, following his incumbency, that in five months' 
time the work on the new building was ready to begin. 
The old church building was sold to the Knights of 
Pythias for $4,500, and the parsonage to C. F. Lippincott 
for $2,500. The contract for erecting the edifice was 
awarded to Lewis Walton, of Corwells, the price being 
$26,635. The windows, heater, gas fixtures and furniture 




MIvTHODIST h:pISCOPAL CHURCH. 



cost $5,000 more. The contract for digging and walling 
the cellar was also awarded separately at a cost of $2,700. 
With a trifle over $10,000 in cash, after paying for the 
cost of the ground ($12,000), it required no little faith 
to begin an enterprise costing over $46,000. On August 
9, 1895, just ten days before the time set for the break- 
ing of the ground for the new church. William Kinsey, 



82 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

the president of the board of trustees, and foremost advo- 
cate of the new church enterprise, passed away. His 
death was a great blow to the church and his loss 
irreparable. 

The ground for the new church was broken, at 1.15 P. 
M., August 19, 1895. The first stone in the wall was 
placed September 17, 1895. The last coping to entrance 
to main auditorium, each side, was placed September 21, 
1896. The corner stone was laid on Sunday afternoon, 
November 17, 1895, by the Presiding Elder Rev. S. W. 
Gehrett and the pastor, the Rev. C. H. Rorer. Services 
were held in the old church with regularity until April 
5, 1896. The last communion service was held in the 
morning. Beginning with April 12, services were held 
in the lower room until July 12, 1896. On the evening of 
July 12, 1896, the Rev. Rorer preached the final sermon 
in the old church building. The dedication services be- 
gan on Sunday, October 25, 1896, and were continued 
nightly, concluding on the following Sunday. The church 
services had been held in the chapel from July 19, while 
the auditorium was being completed. At the end of his 
fourth year, the Rev. Rorer accepted a call from the 
Cumberland Street M. E. Church, of Philadelphia. Dur- 
ing his administration the church membership reached 
its high water mark, over 500 members being enrolled. 
The Rev. A. A. Arthur succeeded the Rev. Rorer. IJe 
found the church burdened with a bonded indebtedness 
of $17,000, and a floating debt of $3,800. The Rev. Arthur 
remained two years, but during his administration he col- 
lected $5,000, with which the floating debt was cancelled 
and a substantial payment made on account of the 
bonded debt. Under the administration of the Rev. Theo- 
dore Stevens, who followed the Rev. Arthur, the church 
debt was reduced to $14,000. 

It was during the Rev. Stevens' administration that 
Miss Caroline Kinsey, the only surviving member of the 
Kinsey family, passed away. When her will was read, 
it was found that after making a few private bequests, 
she had bequeathed the bulk of her fortune, amounting 
to about $35,000. to the Bristol M. E. Church. Under the 
administration of the Rev. D. Mast Gordon, the legacy 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL. BOROUGH. 83 

was paid to the church. The mortgage indebtedness was 
promptly cancelled, a fund of $10,000 was set aside and 
invested in first class securities, and the balance spent in 
repairs to the church and parsonage buildings, and the 
installation of a pipe organ in the church auditorium. 
The Rev. S. W. Gehrett, the present pastor, is now serv- 
ing his third year. During his adminstration the church 
roll has been revised and the records now show a mem- 
bership of 400. The church has active and energetic 
Chapters of the Senior and Junior Epworth Leagues and 
a Sunday School of 500 scholars. Bristol Methodism has 
produced many of our distinguished townsmen, among 
whom were : Jonathan Adams, Egbert Street, Jonathan 
Milnor, Jonathan Street, Joseph Foster, James Bruden, 
Squire William Hawke, the Hon. William Kinsey, J. 
Merrick Brown, Jacob S. Young and J. Wesley Wright. 

A list of preachers in charge of Bristol since the circuit 
was established, compiled from annual conference min- 
utes, is herewith presented : 

In 1788, William Dougherty; 1789, Robert Kane; 1790, 
Robert Hutchinson; 1791, Gamaliel Bailey, Joseph 
lyovell ; 1792, Simon Miller, Isaac Robinson; 1793, N. B. 
Mills, E. Pelham, L. Rogers; 1794, William Hunter, John 
Bateman; 1795, William Hardesty, Joseph Rouen; 1796, 
William Colbert, Joseph Whitely; 1797, Charles Caver- 
der, Richard Lyon; 1798, James Moore; 1799, Joseph 
Ebert; 1800, Anning Owen, James Osborn ; 1801, W. P. 
Chandler, John Ledler; 1802, Thomas Everard, R. Mc- 
Coy, T. Jones; 1803, Henry Clark, John Bethel; 1804, 
David Bartine, David James; 1805, Asa Smith, Daniel 
Highbee; 1806, Asa Smith, William Hogan ; 1807, John 
Walker, Richard Lyon ; 1808, Thomas Dunn, James 
Polemus ; 1809, D. Bartine, J. Akins, J. Stepless ; 1810, 
J. Akins, W. S. Fisher, W. P. Chandler; 1811, Thomas 
Boring, William S. Fisher; 1812, Richard Smith, John 
Walker, John Fernon ; 1813, T. Dimm, Charles Reed, 
James Polemus; 1814, Charles Reed, D. Bartine; 1815, 
William Torbet, William M. Foulke ; 1816, Asa Smith, 
Daniel Ireland, P. Price; 1817, John Fox, Asa Smith; 
1818, John Robertson, John Price; 1819, Samuel Budd, 
John Price; 1820-1, Manning Force, Phineas Price; 1822- 



.84 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

23, Jacob Gruber, Daniel Fiddler; 1824, William Wil- 
liams, Thomas Davis; 1825, Edward Stout, James Grace; 
1826, Edward Stout, Joseph Carey; 1827, Henry G. King, 
Robert Lutton ; 1828, Henry G. King, J. B. Ayres; 1829, 
Thomas Neal, Nathaniel Clew; 1830, Thomas Neal, Man- 
love Hazel; 1831, Edward Page, John Finley, James 
Long; 1832, Edward Page, Asbury Boring; 1833, D- ^^r- 
tine, J. Nicolson ; 1834, D. Bartine, C. S. Wharton ; 1835, 
J. Woolston; 1836, D. W. Bartine, Jr., R. McNamee; 
1837, D. W. Bartine, Jr., James Hand; 1838, William 
Williams ; 1839, William Centner ; 1840, John Ludnam, 
Wm. McMichael; 1841, R. Thomas, G. Allen; 1842, R. 
Thomas, J. Walsh; 1843-44, James Asprill ; 1845-46, 
Thomas S. Johnson; 1847, G. D. Carrow; 1848, G. D, 
Carrow, L. K. Berridge ; 1849-50, R. McNamee, W. Mc- 
Michael ; 1851-52, William McCombs; 1853-54, M. H. 
Sisty; 1855-56; J. F. Boone; 1857-58, E. J. ^Vay; 1859-60. 
G. W. Alaclaughlin; 1861-62, P. J. Coxe; 1863-64, A. 
Johns; 1865, William Barnes; 1866, J. H. Turner; 1867, 
H. Grove; 1868, E. C. Griffith; 1869-70, Wm. Rink; 1871- 
72, Wm. Dalrymple; 1873-1874, F. E. Church; 1875-77, J. 
S. Cook; 1878-80, I. Cunningham; 1881-83, H. E. Gilroy; 
1884-86, Wm. Ridgeway; 1887-90, Samuel Kemble ; 1891- 
94, Eli E. Burris; 1895-98, Chas. H. Rorer; 1899-1900, A. 
A. Arthur; 1901-03, Theodore Stevens; 1904-07, D. ]\Iast 
Gordon; 1908-10, the Rev. S. W. Gehrett. 

Note. — Since the writing- of this article, the Rev. S. VV. Gehrett, 
D. D., has severed his relations with the church and retired from 
the active ministry. His successor is the Rev. E. W. Rushton, who 
entered upon his duties in March of this year, 191 1. 




A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 85 



EPOCH IV. 



THE PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 



From 1775, the Beginning of the Revolutionary War, to 
1783, the Close of the Revolutionary War. 

Introduction. — The story of the American Revolution 
cannot be too often told. The wisdom and patriotism of 
the men who led the revolt against the British crown, 
and the courage and endurance of those who fought the 
battles of the colonies, have never been surpassed. 
Bucks County displayed its loyalty by sending its quota 
of men to strengthen the Patriot Army and the roster 
contains the names of many citizens of Bristol, some of 
whom laid down their lives upon the altar of patriotism, 
that America might be free. On three occasions the 
Continental Army, with Washington at its head, marched 
through our county to meet the enemy on historic fields, 
and in the trying period of December, 1776, it sought 
shelter on Bucks County soil behind the friendly waters 
of the Delaware. While our county was faithful to the 
cause of Independence, a considerable minority of her 
population remained loyal to the crown. When the war 
tjecame inevitable, Bucks was one of the first counties 
to act. The 9th of July, 1774, Joseph Hart, John Kidd, 
Joseph Kirkbride, James Wallace, Henry Wynkoop, 
Samuel Foulke and John Wilkinson were appointed to 
represent Bucks at a meeting of all the county commit- 
tees to be held in Philadelphia, where Mr. Hart was chair- 
man of the committee that reported in favor of "a con- 
gress of deputies from all the colonies." On the i6th of 



86 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

January, 1775, a committee of safety was organized in 
Bucks County, in which was reposed, for the time being, 
the legislative and executive authority of the county. 

Society of Friends Against the War. — The Society of 
Friends was against the war from the beginning, because 
strife and bloodshed were opposite to their religious tenets, 
but the authority of the fathers could not restrain the 
sons. A number of their young men gave open sympathy 
to the cause of the colonies, and some entered the mili- 
tary service. The meeting "dealt with" all who forsook 
the faith, and the elders of Richland were visited with 
ecclesiastical wrath for turning their backs upon King 
George. We must do the society justice, however, to say 
that it was consistent in its action, and that the same 
censure was launched against the martial Quaker, 
whether he entered the ranks of the king or the colonies. 
Nevertheless the society did not forget the needs of 
charity, and down to April, 1776, they had already dis- 
tributed £3,900, principally in New England, and Falls 
monthly meeting authorized subscriptions for the suffer- 
ing inhabitants of Philadelphia. 

Bristolians Captured at Fort Washington. — When 
congress authorized an army, among those who entered 
the military service from this county was Alexander 
Grayden, of Bristol, a captain in Shee's regiment, who 
was made prisoner at Fort Washington. Colonel Robert 
Magaw, of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, recruited 
a number of his men in this county, some of whom were 
from Bristol, and the roll of his killed and captured at 
Fort Washington gives the names of several Bristolians, 
as follows. John Prestley, lieutenant ; John Murray, ser- 
geant; John Stevens, private; Thomas Bell, private; 
Joshua Carrigan, private, died in prison ; Robert Frame, 
private, died in prison ; Joseph Bratton, private ; Daniel 
Kenedy, sergeant. 

Prisoners of War Held at Bristol. — General Mont- 
gomery, while on his bold but unfortunate expedition 
against Quebec, in the winter of 1775, captured Fort St. 
Jean, which was situated on the Richelieu River, which 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH, 87 

connects Lake Champlain with the St. Lawrence. The 
fort was garrisoned by 400 men of the Seventh Fusiliers 
of the British Army, Major Prestor, a detachment of 
the Twenty-sixth, and 150 Canadian Militia, all French, 
from Montreal, only thirty miles distant. The garrison 
held out for forty-five days, but finally were starved and 
worried into an unconditional surrender. The command- 
er-in-chief of the French Auxiliaries, the Sieur de Roque- 
maure, would not surrender to the Americans, but com- 
mitted suicide by jumping over a precipice. The men 
were held prisoners at several points in New York State, 
and the officers distributed among various towns in New 
York and Pennsylvania, some being held at Bristol, Lan- 
caster, Easton and other points. The prisoners going to 
Bristol were sent from Albany, N. Y., by way of Easton 
in sleighs and suffered greatly from the intense cold. 
Among the prisoners sent to Lancaster was Lieutenant 
John Andre, of the Seventh, who eight years subse- 
quently, was induced to enter the American lines in dis- 
guise, and as a consequence suffered death as a spy. The 
twenty ment sent to Bristol were drawn from among the 
first citizens of Montreal. The names of these twenty 
"officers and gentlemen," as they were styled by the 
authorities of the day, and as reported from the office of 
the Adjutant General and from the Archwest of Canada 
were as follows : 

Lieutenant Colonel The Chevalier Picote de Beletre, 
Major De Longwell and ten captains : Messeurs Cham- 
bault, Du Chenay, Du Tbinure, Havieux, Gamilon, Lot- 
. biniere, De Boucherville, De La Valtrie, De Rowville, 
d' Eschambault; First Lieutenants The Chevalier Hertil 
and Messeurs La Madelaine, Lac Schmith, De la Marque, 
Saint Ours, De Musseau, Fleuriment, De Ruisseaux. 

The prisoners at Bristol had the liberty of the town and 
surrounding country, and fully complied with the re- 
quirements of their parole and remained at Bristol until 
exchanged about one year after their capture. The town 
of Bristol, a village of fifty dwellings, had a resident 
population of less than 300, consequently the billeting 
here of a body of Frenchmen equal to one-fifteenth of the 



88 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

population of the town, was a marked event, and if they 
were representative of their vivacious nation, they must 
have made it interesting for the demure Quaker girls of 
the village and countryside. (From writings by Captain 
Burnett Landreth.) 

Washington Decides to Retreat. — The campaign of 
1776 was disastrous to the American arms. Washington 
announced to congress, the ist of December, his contem- 
plated retreat across the Delaware, and asked that the 
Pennsylvania militia be ordered toward Trenton, and the 
boats collected on the west side of the river. Four regi- 
ments of the Pennsylvania militia had been organized 
and Bristol furnished its quota of men. About the same 
time, Washington sent forward Colonel Hampton to 
collect all the boats and other craft along the Delaware, 
and General Putnam was ordered to construct rafts of the 
lumber at Trenton landing, while another party was 
sent up the river to collect all the boards and scantling 
on or near the river banks. Congress and the local 
authorities were thoroughly alarmed at the approach of 
the enemy. The arms of non-associators were collected 
to prevent them being used against the Americans, the 
militia were ordered to reinforce W^ashington and the 
owners of cattle were directed to be ready to remove 
them at least five miles from the river. 

The Continental Army Enters Bucks County. — \\'ash- 
ington, with the main body of the army, reached Tren- 
ton the 3rd of December, and the heavy stores and bag- 
gage were immediately removed to this side. He crossed 
over with his rear guard on Sunday morning, the 8th, 
and his troops were stationed opposite the crossings. The 
enemy came marching down to the river about eleven 
o'clock, the same morning, expecting to cross, but were 
much disappointed when they found the boats had been 
removed to the west bank. They made demonstrations 
to cross above and below, including a night march to 
Coryell's ferry, but their attempts failed. The hostile 
armies now lay facing each other across the Delaware, 
and the cause of Independence was saved. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 89 

General Cadwalader's Army Encamped at Bristol- 
Washington's next care was to guard the fords and 
crossings of the river to prevent the passage of the enemy. 
General Dickinson guarded the river from Bordentown 
to Yardleyville, General Cadwalader, with 3,000 men was 
posted at Bristol, and Colonel Nixon's regiment was at 
Dunk's ferry. Small redoubts were thrown up at various 
points, and each detachment was supplied with artillery. 
The general instructions to the troops were, if driven 
from their positions to retreat to the strong ground near 
Germantown. The depot of supplies was fixed at New- 
town, the county seat, because it was central, removed 
from the river, and easy of access from all points. The 
days following the retreat of the American army from 
New Jersey were stirring and eventful ones in the quiet 
little town of Bristol. The old Buckley house, which 
stood on Radcliffe Street, on the site now occupied by 
the residences of Haltzel and Nesbit, was used as a bake 
house for the soldiers of General Cadwalader's army. The 
little one-story frame church built by the Episcopalians, 
but then unusued and in partial decay, was occupied as 
a hostelry by the stafif officers of the American general. 
The old Friends meeting house, at the corner of Wood 
and Market Streets, was converted into a hospital and 
some of the soldiers who died were buried in a cemetery 
known as the Baptist plot, located on Otter Street on 
the site where Mohican Hall now stands. The inhabi- 
tants lived in momentary fear of attack by the enemy. 
All that could be spared was given to clothe and feed the 
half-starved and poorly clad soldiers ; the martial spirit 
prevailed everywhere. Radclifife Street was alive with 
soldiers at most hours of the day and night, coming down 
to the George the Second Hotel, now the Delaware 
House ; often the muffled roll of the drum was heard, as 
the body of some poor unfortunate patriot was borne to 
its last resting place ; and thus the days passed until the 
arrival of that memorable Christmas night, when Wash- 
ington, by his intrepid assault on the Hessians at Tren- 
ton, kindled anew the fires of patriotism and instilled re- 
newed hopes into the American hearts. 



90 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Washington Plans to Attack the Hessians at Trenton. 

At what time Washington first conceived the plan of 
recrossing the river to attack the Hessians is not known. 
While the troops of Gates and Sullivan had increased his 
force sufficient to make the attempt, we are told he could 
yet find but 2,400 fit for the service. All the preparations 
were quietly made ; the troops were selected and put in 
readiness, and a few days before Christmas, boats were 
collected at Knowles' cove, two miles above Taylors- 
ville. Bancroft says that Washington wrote the watch- 
word : "Victory or Death," on the 23rd, and he writes to 
Colonel Reed about that time : "Christmas day, at night, 
one hour before day, is the time fixed upon for our 
attack on Trenton." The troops selected were those of 
New England, Pennsylvania and Virginia. General Cad- 
walader was to co-operate below Bristol, by crossing and 
attacking the enemy's post at Mount Holly. The men 
were provided with three days' cooked rations and forty 
rounds of ammunition. 

The Destiny of the Country Hung By a Single Thread. 

— While Washington was making his final preparations 
to strike, everything was pleasant and serene within the 
enemy's lines. The Hessians spent a merry Christmas 
at Trenton and the officers were invited to spend the eve- 
ning at the house of Abraham Hunt, a suspected Tory, 
where they made a night of it. A surprise by the de- 
moralized Continentals had never been thought of and no 
precautions were taken against it. General Grant, at 
Princetown, had heard of the intended attack and advised 
Rahle, but the latter treated it with indifference. During 
the evening a Bucks County tory crossed the river with 
a note to the Hessian commander, informing him of the 
attack on the morrow, but he was too busy just then to 
attend to such matters, and when it was handed to him, 
the note was put into his pocket, where it was found, 
unopened, after his death. On what a slender thread hung 
the destinies of the country! 

The Battle of Trenton.— The troops left their camps 
about 3 P. M., the afternoon of the 25th of December, 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 91 

and late in the day reached the place of rendezvous, at 
the mouth of Knowles' Creek, where the crossing was 
to be made, and near which a house still stands which 
shows marks of its occupancy by the soldiers on this 
memorable occasion. The morning was clear and cold, 
but the night set in stormy with sleet ; it commenced to 
snow about eleven, and the river ran strong with ice. 
At 6 P. M., Washington wrote Cadwalader at Bristol, 
that, as the night 'is favorable," he was determined to 
"cross the river and make the attack on Trenton in the 
morning." The troops commenced crossing about sun- 
set, and it was three in the morning before they were all 
over, with the artillery. The troops, after crossing, were 
formed on the bank of the river into two divisions and 
put in march, Washington accompanied by Sterling, 
Greene, Mercer and Stephen, taking the upper, while Sul- 
livan led the right column on the river road. General 
Cadwalader and his army at Bristol, attempted to cross 
the river as instructed by Washington, but were pre- 
vented by the floating ice, although they did not desist in 
the attempt until 4 o'clock in the morning. The battle of 
Trenton is familiar to all. The attack was made by 
Washington, to which there was but a feeble resistance, 
and the fruits of the morning's work was 1,040 prisoners, 
rank and file, twenty-three officers, 1,000 stands of arms 
and several cannon. The army, with the prisoners, re- 
crossed the river that afternoon, and the next day the 
captured Hessians were at Newtown, the officers quar- 
tered at the taverns, and the soldiers confined in the 
church and jail. Washington remained at Newtown 
until the 29th, when he recrossed the river with the same 
troops he had with him on the 26th, and inaugurated the 
skillful campaign that nearly relieved New Jersey of the 
enemy. 

Camp of Instruction at Bristol. — The active scenes of 
warfare were now removed from our county. During 
the spring and summer several calls were made upon' the 
Bucks County militia. In April a camp of instruction 
was located at Bristol and the town and county furnished 
500 men. 
7 



92 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Continental Army Again Enters Bucks County. — 

When the British sailed south from New York, in July, 
1777, the Continental army again crossed the Delaware 
into Bucks County. The bulk of the army was put in 
march down the York Road the morning of the 31st of 
July. Washington setting out for Philadelphia at the 
same time, it is possible he passed through Bristol, for 
we find him at Philadelphia on the 3rd of August, whence 
he joined the army at Germantown before the 6th. On 
the supposition that the enemy had returned to New 
York, the army retraced its steps, and remained en- 
camped on the Neshaminy hills thirteen days, until it was 
known the enemy was about to land at the head of the 
Elk. The army was again put in motion the morning of 
the 23d, and the next day marched through the city and 
across the Schuylkill to meet the enemy upon the dis- 
astrous field of Brandywine. 

Lafayette Wounded, Brought to Bristol. — The 
approach of the British caused great consternation in 
this section of the state, which was greatly increased 
by Washington's defeat at Brandywine, and the fall of 
Philadelphia. Lafayette, who was wounded at Brandy- 
wine, was taken by the way of Chester and Philadelphia 
to Bristol, enroute to Bethlehem. At Bristol, he stayed 
over night at the house of Simon Betz, known as the 
"Buckley House," which stood on the site of the Haltzell 
and Nesbitt residences on Radcliffe Street, facing the 
Delaware River, between Penn and Franklin Streets, 
where he was waited upon by a Mrs. Charles Bessonett, 
a niece of Betz. This house was erected at a very early 
date, probably 1735. In writing about this dwelling in 
1853, Wm. Bache says: "This old edifice long and 
familiarly known as the 'Willis House,' is still standing, 
in the garden of which, on the opposite side of the street, 
stand the two beautiful Gothic residences of Daniel P. 
Forst and Samuel Swain, Jr. The old 'Buckley House' 
was used as a bake house for the American soldiery while 
quartered here. Although in a dilapidated condition, the 
main edifice is still tenanted. (1853.)" C)n the following 
morning, Lafayette was conveyed to his destination up 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 93 

the Durham Road, stopping at Attleborough, and Stoffel 
Wagner's tavern, built in 1752, a mile from Hellertown. 

Bristol Captured by the British. — During the British 
occupancy of Philadelphia the country between the 
Schuylkill and the Delaware was debatable ground, and 
was traversed by armed parties of both armies. The 
enemy made frequent incursions into Bucks County. Wm. 
Bache gives the following interesting account of such an 
incursion into Bristol : "The building on the east corner 
of Otter and Mill Streets was a guard house during the 
Revolutionary War, and Bristol, having raised a com- 
pany of militia, they had their armory in a small brick 
building then attached to the same house which was torn 
away and the house remodeled in 1852. This company 
had a cannon planted at the forks of the road, and they 
kept sentries posted at night, etc. A detachment of 
loyalists who had gone over to the British cause, de- 
termined to capture the town, and a party of light horse- 
men were detailed for the purpose. They arrived at the 
ford now called Flushing Mills, below Newportville, in 
the night, and secreted themselves under cover of the 
trees and bank of the creek, until the booming of the 
morning gun announced that the last sentry had retired 
from his post; when, muffling their horses' feet, they 
smartly pursued their course to the town, and found its 
inhabitants all fast asleep. They quickly placed a guard 
at the door of each house of any apparent importance, 
and forced the occupants from their beds, many of them 
not even allowed time to dress, and marshalled them in a 
line in front of the guard house, at the corner of Otter 
and y\\\\ Streets. Here they were allowed to send for 
clothing and finish dressing. One fellow, an ensign in 
the company, attempted to escape by running away 
across the meadow, which was then banked in, but which 
is now a marsh at the mouth of Mill Creek. He was pur- 
sued by a horseman, who, on nearing him, ordered him to 
stop, which order not being obeyed, was unceremoniously 
enforced by a sabre cut upon the head. A townsman 
living in the house attached to the Mill property on Mill 
Street, which was demolished many years ago, was 



94 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

aroused in the morning' by some one calling at the door 
that the British had possession of the town, which he 
did not believe, thinking that some of the family were 
trying to amuse themselves at his expense. In a few 
minutes an axe came flying through the door, making the 
splinters fly in every direction, when he, without stopping 
to dress, and rushing to the foot of the stairs, saw that 
the only chance for escape was by dodging under the 
horse's neck, which attempting, the horseman made a 
stroke at him with his sword, which luckily took effect 
in the top of the post attached to the steps, splitting it 
some six inches or more. The captain of the militia 
company, whom they most wanted, they were not able to 
find, he being secreted in the garret of an old frame house 
at the corner of Bath and Mill Streets. After getting all 
the ]:)rincipal citizens they could find, they took them as 
prisoners of war to Philadelphia ; no one but the ensign 
being hurt, nor were any depredations of much account 
committed. The prisoners were there detained some two 
or three months and then released. Among those taken 
from here were Edward Church, an infirm old man and 
pious Friend; Richard Gosline, Thomas Broom, John 
Green and Levi Douglass." 

French and American Armies Pass Through Bristol. — 

Washington put the Continental army in march from 
Valley Forge, after a six months' residence upon its bleak 
hills, the 1 8th of June, 1778, to pursue the enemy in his 
retreat toward New York. From this time forward the 
stirring and active scenes of the war were removed to 
distant parts of the country. In September, 1781, the 
French and American armies, in march to meet Corn- 
wallis in Virginia, passed through the lower end of the 
county, possibly having followed the King's Highway, 
and marched through Bristol. They crossed the Dela- 
ware at Trenton and the neighboring- ferries on the 
morning of the ist, and the same afternoon passed the 
Neshaminy at the rope ferry, encamping at the Red Lion 
in Bcnsalem that evening, and the next day marched 
through P'hiladelphia. During the war a number of per- 
sons in the county joined the British army and drew 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 95 

their swords against their country. Under the confisca- 
tion act of March 6th, 1778, a number of persons in the 
county lost their estates for remaining loyal to the British 
crown. Among these are mentioned John Ellwood and 
Andrew Allen, of Bristol. While the war was in progress 
the river shore at Bristol was skirted with a sentry of 
gondolas and barges, which were chiefly used for 
telegraphing. 

Bristol Lodge, No. 25, Ancient York Masons. — The 

original warrant, dated March 15, 1780, was granted by 
the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, under the 
masonic administration of the R. W. William Ball, as 
Grand Master; R. W. William Shute, as Deputy Grand 
Master; R. W. Alexander Rutherford, Sen. G. Warden; 
R. W. Jacob Howell, Junior Grand Warden; authorizing 
and appointing Brothers John Clark, W. M. ; Samuel 
r.enezet, S. W. ; and Dr. WiUiam Mcllvaine, J. W. ; to 
hold a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons at the town 
of Bristol, in the State of Pennsylvania, or anywhere 
within five miles of the said town, the number of which 
lodge to be 25. In connection with the Brethren thus 
officially designated, Brothers Tyrringham Palmer, Jacob 
Shallus and Patrick Grifiin, as the constitutional number 
of members requisite, had united in the petition to the 
Grand Lodge, and obtained the warrant. 

John Clark, the first Master of the Lodge, was an offi- 
cer in the British army, residing in this country upon 
leave of absence, his regiment being in the West Indies. 
He was a man of considerable local prominence, much 
Avealth and lived upon the Belle Meade farm, near Bristol. 
Although a British officer, it is abundantly shown by 
local history that his sympathies were entirely with the 
Colonies, -and against the Crown, and that he never re- 
turned to the British army. 

Samuel Benezet, the first Senior Warden, was a man 
known and greatly respected in the county, and had filled 
many important offices. Dr. William Mcllvaine, the first 
Junior Warden was a man of high social position, and a 
member of a family who for many years were of consid- 
erable social importance in Bucks County. Both of these 
gentlemen resided in the Township of Bensalem. 



96 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

The labors of the Lodge were commenced and con- 
ducted with energetic zeal, securing the most prosperous 
and satisfactory results. Every profession or occupation 
soon were enrolled among its members. The late Wil- 
liam Bache, in his history of Bristol Masonry says: "At 
that eventful period in the annals of our country, it is 
gratifying to find the "Mcllvaines, Bloomfield, Willett, 
Bessonet, Rodman, Wilkinson, John Fitch, and similar 
illustrious personages, assembling around its simple 
altar." John Fitch then resided near the Neshaminy 
Creek and was engaged upon those experiments since so 
wonderfully developed, of propelling boats by the power 
of steam. His membership dates January 4, 1785. 

On June 4, 1785, the propriety of continuing under the 
jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England engaged the 
consideration of the Order generally. When Bristol 
Lodge unanimously selected their worthy Brother John 
Clark to represent them in the Quarterly Communication 
of the Grand Lodge, to be holden in Philadelphia, Sep- 
tember 26, 1786, with especial instructions upon the sub- 
ject. Thirteen of the Colonial Lodges were then and 
there assembled ; and, after mature and serious delibera- 
tion, unanimously resolved "That it is improper the 
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania should remain any longer 
under the authority of any foreign Grand Lodge." Thus 
was originated the present Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. 

The Provincial Warrant of Bristol Lodge was then 
surrendered, and the present warrant obtained, dated the 
9th day of July, 1789, under the administration of the 
R. W., J. B. Smith, as Grand Master; R. W., George Ord, 
as Deputy Grand Master; R. W., Joseph Dean, as Senior 
Grand Warden; R.W., Joseph Few, as Junior Grand War- 
den ; renewing in perpetuity all the original rights and 
privileges pertaining to the Lodge, through Brothers 
John Clark, as W. M. ; Samuel Benezet, S. W., and Wm. 
Mcllvaine, J. W. 

From September, 1790, to December 3, 1801. but few 
members were admitted, and nothing of much interest 
took place in the Lodge. The members becoming more 
and more negligent of their duties, it seemed to be useless 
to continue meeting, and accordingly upon December 3, 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



97 



1801, the Lodge suspended its labors until January 6, 
1812, when work was again resumed, with the approval 
of the Grand Lodge. These eleven years of inactivity 
seem to have been, however, of real benefit to the craft in 
Bristol, for great prosperity attended the Lodge after its 
resumption of work in 181 2, for early in 181 5, only three 
years afterward, we find them resolving to purchase a lot 
and erect a hall, which resolution was so warmly re- 




MASilXIC TKMl'I.K, CEDAR STREET. 

sponded to by the subscriptions and labors of the 
brethren, that they had completed a stone hall, two and 
one-half stories high, and 36 by 20 feet on its ground 
plan, the main entrance being approached by a flight of 
steps, and which was formally dedicated to Masonry on 
Xovember 18, 181 5, less than one year after its erection 
was determined upon. 

From 1 81 2 to 1822, the Lodge continued to have great 
prosperity, and many new members were added to it, 
the most prominent being the late John Fox, President 
Judge of this Judicial District, initiated June 24, 1814, 
and Don T^Duis De Onis, ATinister Plenipotentiary from 



98 A IIISTOin' Ol' JiKISTOL liOKOUGH. 

Si)ain to the United States, initiated by dispensation, Jnne 
22, 1814. 

Don De Onis, it is said, was a remarkable man, of 
considerable attainments, high in the confidence of the 
Spanish Crown, and became warmly attached to the prin- 
ciples of Masonry. He was for several years a resident of 
Bristol, then quite a fashionable watering place on 
account of the Bath Springs. 

After 1822, however, the old Lodge began to languish, and 
from that year until 1825, very little interest seems to 
have been taken in the work by the members. Then com- 
menced an era of darkness for Masonry in Bristol and 
continued for twenty-three years. Upon the 27th of 
December, 1825, the Lodge met for the last time, as it 
was then supposed. 

The resuscitation of Bristol Lodge in 1848, was brought 
about by Brother Past Master, Daniel M. Keim. He 
learned of the antecedent history of the Lodge from its 
former Tyler, Charles Riley, Sr. From the late Wm. 
Kinsey he procured the present warrant of the Lodge. 
The original deed of trust was found by the late Andrew 
W. Gilkeson, among the papers of the late William F. 
Swift, the Secretary of the Lodge at the time it closed in 
1825. Finding that one of the brethren named in the deed 
as a trustee was still living (the venerable Brother John 
S. Benezet), Brother Keim sought him out in Philadel- 
phia, and found him not only willing, but anxious to assist 
in the resuscitation of the Lodge. Application was at 
once made to the Grand Lodge for permission to recon- 
struct Bristol Lodge, No. 25, and the first session of the 
resuscitated lodge was held February 10, 1848. Per- 
mission to reconstruct the lodge was granted by the 
Grand Lodge, upon the application of the following 
brethren, formerly members of Bristol Lodge, No. 25, to 
wit : Charles S. Riche, John S. Benezet, James R. Scott, 
John H. Bispham, John Birkey, to which was added the 
name of Daniel j\L Keim, although he had not been a 
member of Uristol Lodge. 

Shortly after the reorganization of the lodge, a lady of 
the town, named Mrs. Martha Toomb, presented it with 
the ancient jewels and seal of the lodge, which for many 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 99 

years, since her husband's death, she had guarded with 
jealous care. Tradition says, that in the house of her 
husband, away back in 1780, the lodge used to meet. 

The old minute book and records were restored to the 
lodge by Watson Conly, of Byberry, who was not then a 
Mason. He found them upon the removal of some rub- 
bish in the garret of a house in Falls Township. 

From the time of its resuscitation until the present, the 
lodge has inarched onward in unexampled prosperity. 
The old hall was soon found to be too small for the 
assemblages oi its members, and from time to time, hav- 
ing carefull;f considered the subject, they finally resolved 
to erect the present commodious hall for the better 
accommodation of the craft. 

The site of the old hall was selected for the erection 
of the new, and during the summer of 1853, the former 
was taken down and the present hall erected. 

The Building Committee of the new hall consisted of 
Brothers Lucius Scott, Pugh Dungan, James W. Martin, 
assisted, ex-officio, by Brothers Allen Downing, William 
Kinsey, Andrew W. Gilkeson, John Dorrance and J. H. 
Schenk, M. D., the trustees, who were all unwearied in 
their superintendence of the work, and spared neither 
expense nor labor to carry out the object of their appoint- 
ment. The new hall was completed and dedicated to 
Masonry on Monday, May i, 1854, by the Grand Master 
and officers of the Grand Lyodge. Exercises in connection 
therewith, were held in the First Baptist Church. An 
address was delivered by R. W. Grand Chaplain, J. Lans- 
ing Burrows, on the subject: "What Masonry Requires 
of ]\Iasons," and proved a most eloquent production. The 
town was crowded with strangers, to see the procession 
from the Lodge to the Church, and to hear the address. 
The Grand Master and officers of the Grand Lodge of 
New Jersey Avere also present. 

Then came the dark period of the Civil War. As Bris- 
tol Lodge was loyal during the Revolution, so was it 
loyal during the late war of the Rebellion. Many of the 
brethren went forth to do battle for "God and Liberty," 
during those dark days when the fate of the nation 
seemed hanging by a thread. Many of the brethren re- 



lOO A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

turned from the war with honor; some were brought back 
cold and stiff in death, and lie buried in the quiet church- 
yards ; one of the best and bravest, Brother H. Clay 
Beatty, sleeps the sleep that knows no waking until the 
resurrection, under the locust trees in St. James' Church- 
yard. One or two sleep in nameless graves, with strange 
southern wild flowers blooming over them — buried after 
the battle, among the unknown dead. 

On Monday, March 29th, 1880, the lodge celebrated its 
Centennial anniversary, holding the exercises in the First 
Baptist Church. It was on that occasion, that the late 
Hon. B. F. Gilkeson delivered a historical address, from 
which the major part of the data contained in this history 
has been taken. During later years the lodge has met 
with unprecedented success and numbers within its 
ranks, the best citizens of the community and surround- 
ing townships. A few years ago, an addition was built 
to the rear of their hall, which greatly increases its 
usefulness. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. lOI 



EPOCH V. 



BRISTOL AS A FASHIONABLE WATERING 
PLACE. 



From 1783, the Close of the Revolutionary War, to 1827, 
the Construction of the Canal. 

Introduction. — Following" the Revolutionary War and 
down to 1821, Bristol was the principal watering place in 
America, made so by the Bath Springs, just outside the 
borough limits, and was the summer resort of rich and 
distinguished people from all parts of this country and 
from abroad. The Delaware House, then known as 
George the Second and later as the Fountain House, was 
crowded with guests during the summer season. The 
railroad had not yet made its appearance and travel was 
either on the river or in stage coaches. The daily appear- 
ance of the old stage wagons, the arrival and departure 
of guests, the travel to and from the Bath Springs, the 
daily landing of the river boats, gave the old town the 
appearance of prosperity, caused the inhabitants to shake 
off the lethargy which had taken possession of them, and 
gave promise of a prosperous future. Two race courses, 
one on the Badger farm, below Bristol, and the other at 
the Bath Springs, greatly enlivened the life of the com- 
munity. Sporting men from all over the country were 
attracted. "Messenger" was kept in Bristol several 
years before 1793, and down to 1839. Bela Badger, a 
resident of Bristol Township, was one of the most noted 
horsemen of the country. He became interested in the 
turf during his residence in Baltimore, where he pur- 
chased "Hickory," and with him won a race on the Ger- 
mantown course with "Postboy," owned by Ethan Allen, 
at $2,000 a side. He was subsequently associated with 



I02 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

William R. Johnson, of Virginia, in the ownership of 
some of the best racing stock of that day; it was by their 
efforts that the superiority of southern horses was first 
demonstrated. 

A Famous Seed Producing Establishment. — In Bristol 

Townshi]) is one of the heaviest seed producing establish- 
ments in the world, originally owned and conducted by 
David Landreth. It is located on the bank of the Dela- 
ware, above Bristol, and is called Bloomsdale. The 
estate, which comprises several hundred acres, is 
exclusively devoted to the raising of seeds, which are 
shipped to all parts of the world. The most imjDroved 
methods of cultivation have been adopted, and the farm 
is one of the finest in Pennsylvania. A few years ago 
the firm was reorganized and is now known as the D. 
Landreth Seed Company. The business was established 
in 1784 by David Landreth ; in 1790 it was conducted 
under the name of David & Cuthbert Landreth ; in 1830 
it was changed to David Landreth & Co., and in 1843 
the business was conducted under the firm name of David 
Landreth and D. Landreth Munns ; its original title, 
David Landreth, was resumed in 1845 ^ ^^ i860 it was 
changed to David Landreth & Son, and in 1875 to David 
Landreth & Sons, and in 1903 to its present title. The D. 
Landreth Seed Company. 

Bristol Obtains Charter From State of Pennsylvania. — 

As the corporate existence of Bristol was derived from 
the crown of Great Britain, it was dissolved by the 
Declaration of Independence ; whereupon the assembly 
passed an act September 16, 1785, re-establishing its 
former power and privileges. The original charter thus 
revived continued operative until 1851. Its defects Avere 
many; as a writer of 1849 thus forcibly expresses it : "The 
powers reposed in our borough officers should be amply 
explicit and determined ; those conferred by the present 
charter are vague, uncertain, and undefined. In some 
instances their want of authority has been severely felt 
and universally deprecated. In others it is exceedingly 
questionable, while oftentimes it is absolute and un- 
bounded." Yet, strange to say, under that charter, the 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I03 

corporate powers of the Borough of Bristol continued to 
be administered for an additional period of sixty-five 
years. 

Ship Building Industry. — At a very early day in the 
borough's history, the citizens began to build sailing ves- 
sels. As far back as 1785, there was a ship yard on Mill 
Creek between Cedar and Wood Streets, where a man 
named William Davis, built and repaired many vessels. 
He built the Morning Star, which was commanded by a 
Captain Cooper. The late William Kinsey, in a news- 
paper article written years ago, says that Captain Cooper 
told him that the Morning Star was the finest schooner 
that sailed out of the port of Philadelphia, and that no 
vessel could overhaul her at sea. 

After Mr. Davis left Bristol, John Reed carried on the 
business. He was very successful, made money and built 
some fine houses for that day. The John Bostwick prop- 
erty on Radcliffe Street, above Lafayette, was built by 
him. It is said, that he never knew his parents but was 
found when an infant in a bunch of reeds, and adopted 
by a kind family who brought him up and gave him the 
name of John Reed. He was an energetic, hard working 
man and an enterprising citizen. He removed to Mary- 
land, bought a farm and ended his days there, respected 
by all who knew him. 

After his removal from the town, the business was con- 
tinued by Stackhouse & Heiss. They built and repaired 
many vessels. There was one built at the foot of Mul- 
berry Street, called the Tacy & Grace, after the wives 
of her owner and captain, Tacy Trump and Grace Pat- 
terson. She sailed many years on the Delaware and did 
good service for her owners. Two brigs belonging to 
John Hutchinson, one of the enterprising citizens of Bris- 
tol at that early day, were overhauled and repaired by 
Stackhouse & Heiss. The names of the vessels were 
Buck and Hamlet. They were commanded by the two 
sons of the owner, both of whom were able seamen. 
Captain Joseph had command of the Buck and Captain 
John of the Hamlet. They went to sea, but alas for the 
Hamlet, she never returned nor was any tidings ever 



I04 A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 

heard from her crew. It is supposed she foundered at 
sea and all were lost. The Buck made many successful 
voyages under the command of her skilful captain, but 
at last, she too, met with a sad fate, being on her home- 
ward bound voyage, when she was run into at night by 
another vessel. The captain had but a few minutes to 
secure his trunk and with his crew to get into the ship's 
boats, before the brig went down with a valuable cargo, 
and the labor of years was lost. Although the captain's 
loss was heavy, he was not discouraged, and his perse- 
verance and excellent reputation as a seaman, soon 
secured him another vessel. He followed the sea suc- 
cessfully for many years. He had some fine ships built, 
two of which he sold to the Mexican governn it, and 
they were converted into war vessels on accouu.'c." their' 
superior sailing qualities. He was also heavily interested 
in, if not one of the originators of the line of i iickets 
from New York to Vera Cruz. 

After the deaths of Stackhouse and Heiss, the business 
was continued by Charles Thompson, who lived to a 
ripe old age, an honored and respected citizen. Kirk and 
Lamb were his successors and it was during their time 
that the citizens began to increase their investments by 
building a larger class of vessels, called schooners, rating 
from 200 to 300 tons each. The shipment of coal from 
Bristol to eastern ports made a demand for a larger and 
faster class of sailing vessels to supply the increased de- 
mand for Pennsylvania Black Diamond coal. Since 1844, 
the citizens of Bristol have put afloat twenty-one schoon- 
ers, built in and sailing from Bristol, the cost of which 
was over $300,000. Six of said vessels were lost at sea, 
involving a loss to the owners of many thousands of 
dollars, and on which there was no insurance. 

In addition to investments in sailing craft, in later 
years our citizens have invested heavily in steam boats. 
In 1853, Captain J. Cone, assisted by some citizens, built 
the steamer Thomas A. Morgan, at a cost of $45,000. He 
also built the John A. Warner, at a cost of over $60,000, 
which in its early days, was the finest j)assenger boat on 
the Delaware. She did good service in the employ of the 
government during the rebellion, and still continues to 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I05 

run as a passenger boat, between Bristol and Philadel- 
phia. The old ferry boat, Ellwood Doron, costing $18,000 
was built by Doron, Knight & Porter, citizens of Bristol, 
and there have been other investments made by our citi- 
zens, in the steamers Edwin Forrest, Twilight, several 
tug boats and one barge. During the years between 1840 
and 1870, the citizens of Bristol invested in sailing ves- 
sels, $300,000; in steamboats, $186,000 and one barge, 
$4,500, making an aggregate of $490,000. 

Bristol has had many distinguished men who followed 
the water and went down to the sea in ships. Captain 
John Green commanded some of the largest ships that 
sailed out of the port of Philadelphia. He was the first 
captain that carried the American flag to China. It is 
said of him, that he imported from that country some very 
large chickens, which he kept on his. farm on the banks 
of the Neshaminy Creek, and from which came the cele- 
brated Bucks County breed that has been so much sought 
after by the lovers of good poultry. After his death his 
son-in-law. Captain Sims took the command of his ship, 
the America and sailed her until she became unsea- 
worthy. He then left the sea and in 1798 bought China 
Retreat, on the Delaware River, of Andrus Everandes 
Van Brum Houchust, for the sum of £10,706, being 
$53,530 in American currency, more money than it would 
sell for today. Another distinguished captain was Jacob 
Searles, who sailed in the employ of Thomas Cope, of 
Philadelphia, and commanded some of his finest ships in 
the Liverpool line, for a period of twenty years, during 
which time he never lost a ship or a passenger. There 
were many others who distinguished themselves as suc- 
cessful navigators. Captain Joseph Stackhouse, Captain 
William Fenton, Captain William Hawk, followed the 
water for many years, made money and lived to a good 
old age to enjoy the fruits of their labors. 

Note. — This article has been taken from a newspaper clipping, 
supposed to have been written by Wm. Kinsey. It is probable that 
after the digging of the canal and the absorption of the mill creek 
oy the canal basin, that the shipbuilding industry originally located 
at the foot of Wood Street, may have been removed to a new loca- 
tion, at the intersection of Adams' Hollow Creek and the Delawar<_ 
River and was known in later days as Jones' Shipyard. 



I06 A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

History of Early Steam Boating on the River Delaware 
Above Philadelphia. — The first boat propelled by steam 
was built in Philadelphia by John Fitch, in the year 1787. 
She was propelled by paddles arranged on each side and 
worked by cranks attached to horizontal shafts. After 
making two or three trips side wheels were substituted, 
when she made several trips to Burlington and one to 
Trenton. Her speed was eight miles an hour, with tide. 
On one occasion while rounding-to at Burlington her 
boiler exploded, but no one was injured. After many 
trial trips and alterations she was abandoned, her 
machinery taken out, and sold to pay her debts, and she 
rotted away in the Kensington docks. 

John Fitch, the original inventor, was born at Hartford, 
Conn., in the year 1743. At the age of eighteen he 
ap])renticed himself to Benjamin Cheeney to learn the art 
of clock-making. At the age of twenty-five he married 
Lucy Roberts, by whom he had two children, a son and 
daughter. The marriage did not prove a happy one, and 
he left his wife and settled in Trenton, N. J., where he 
pursued the business of a silversmith and repairing of 
clocks until the breaking out of the war of the Revolu- 
tion, when he estimated his property to be worth £800. He 
then connnenced gunsmithing and employed twenty men 
in the business, which he continued until the British 
army entered Trenton and destroyed his tools, when he 
fled into Bucks County to the residence of John Mitchell, 
in Attleborough. While there his $4,000 in Continental 
money depreciated to $100. 

He shortly after, in 1780, emigrated to Kentucky and 
commenced surveying. In 1782, while on his way to New 
Orleans with a boat load of flour, he was captured by the 
Indians and carried or driven 1200 miles, bareheaded, to 
Detroit, where he was given up to the British as a 
prisoner. While in captivity he made himself a great 
favorite with the Indian chief by making ornaments for 
him and engraving on his powder horn. After eight 
months of captivity he escaped by way of Quebec, and 
arrived again in Bucks County, where he was received 
with great joy by his old friends. 

He was at one time a lieutenant in the army at Valley 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I07 

Forge, at another time sutler to the army in the west. 
He often, for the purpose of raising funds, would travel 
on foot through the country with articles of silver made 
by himself, which met with ready sale. He was, in a 
word, essentially a universal Yankee. A writer, in speak- 
ing of him, says that his general character in Bucks 
County was that as the flint bears fire, being enforced 
shows a hasty spark, and quick is cold again. In point of 
morals, he was perfectly upright, sincere and honorable 
in all his dealings. In speaking of himself, he says he 
had proved the fact that the best way to make the world 
believe him honest, was to be the thing itself. 

Bucks County has the honor of having made within 
her borders the first model of a boat that was ever pro- 
pelled by steam. It was made by John Fitch, in War- 
minster Township, in a log shop owned by Stephen Mc- 
Dowell. Her machinery was made of brass; the paddle- 
wheels of wood, made by N. Boileau, a student of Princeton, 
who lived near by. The trial trip was made on the mill 
pond on the Watts farm, in Southampton Township. A 
writer, who was present, says he, "with several others in 
the neighborhood, including the Rev. Nathaniel Irvin, 
of the Neshaminy Church, stationed themselves around 
the dam to catch the boat when she came ashore. The 
fire was lighted, the boat put in the water, and after a 
few minutes she started and went puffing up the dam. 
After spending a couple of hours in further experiments, 
she was declared a success." Fitch carried her home 
under his arm greatly delighted with the experiment, as 
the problem of propelling boats by steam was solved on 
that day, and John Fitch had the honor of an invention 
that has revolutionized the commerce and naval warfare 
of the world. A fuller account of Fitch and his doings 
can be found in Davis' History. Shortly after he moved 
to Philadelphia and commenced the building of the first 
steamboat that ever ran on American waters. 

The next boat that made her appearance on the Dela- 
ware was the Phoenix. She was built at New York by 
John C. Stevens, in 1807, went to Philadelphia, being the 
first steamer that navigated the ocean. She made her 
first trip to Bristol in 1809, and was commanded by Cap- 
8 



I08 A lllS'roKV OK BRISTOL IK JROL'CI I. 

tain Davis. Her engineer was Robert Stevciis, who after- 
wards became a leading man in steamboat enterprises. 
The Phoenix in her day was looked upon as the ne plus 
ultra of the arts, and was admired by all who \-isited her 
as a perfect specimen of a steamboat. Her speed was 
eight miles an hour, with the tide. After a few years her 
machinery gave out, and she was laid up and rotted down 
on the Kensington flats. 

The Phoenix was followed by the Philadelphia (dubbed 
the Old Sal). She was built in New York by the Stevens' 
in 1813, and commenced her trips from Philadelphia to 
Trenton in 181 5. She was a great improvement on her 
predecessor, and her commander, Captain Abisha Jen- 
kins, was a great favorite with the traveling public. She 
had a small brass cannon mounted on her forward deck, 
which was fired on her arrival at Burlington. On one 
occasion the gun bursted, killing one of the deck hands, 
and was never replaced. She left Bristol at 8 o'clock A. 
M. for Philadelphia, leaving there at 2 P. M. on her return 
trip. She could make the trip in two hours, with the 
tide. She in time was worn out in the service. 

The opposition between the Philadelphia and the Penn- 
sylvania was lively, the boats being nearly equal ii,i speed 
and both leaving the city at the same hour. Great efiforts 
would be made to make the first landings at the several 
wharves. On one of her trips the Pennsylvania tried to 
prevent the Philadelphia from landing at Bristol by at- 
tempting to run across her bows. The captain ordered 
the pilot to put the Pennsylvania ashore, and directed his 
engineer to put on all steam. The pilot made a run at 
her, striking her just abaft the wheel. She was landed on 
the Jersey shore, where she remained until the next high 
tide, and the Old. Sal went up the river with her flags 
flying. This was the first and only steamboat fight we 
ever had on the river. 

A small boat built in Philadelphia in 1818, called the 
Bristol, commanded by Captain Myers, ran from Bristol 
to Philadelphia for three seasons. She was destroyed by 
fire while moored at her dock. 

A boat built in New York, called the Sea Horse, was 
run in opposition to the Bristol one season, when she Avas 



A IlISTOKV OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



109 



hauled oft" for want of patronage, and went back to New 
York. 

In 1817-18, two boats were built in Philadelphia by a 
company called the Citizens' Line, to run in opposition to 
the Union Line, the Etna, commanded by Captain Davi- 
son, and the Pennsylvania by Captain Kellum. These 
boats had high ])ressnre engines, built after the model of 
Oliver Evans' engine in the Philadelphia Avaterworks. 
After running two seasons the engines were altered to 
low ]jressure. The Etna was taken to New York, and 
run from there to New Brunswick. Durino- one of her 




W.vK.Ni;i; .\()\\ 



lUKI.lXCToN. 



trips she collapsed a flue, and several of her passengers 
were seriously scalded. She became unpopular as a pas- 
senger boat and was run as a freight boat. The Penn- 
sylvania, after a few years, became a tow-boat in the 
employ of the Delaware Canal Company. 

The Franklin, built in New York in 1821, was run by 
the L'nion Line Company. She was commanded by Ca])- 
tain Josc])h Jenkins, who was considered one of the best 



no A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

watermen of his day. She was taken back to New York 
after running two seasons. 

The Albermarle, a New York boat, was run by the 
Citizens' Line one season and then discontinued. 

The Congress, built in New York, was commanded by 
Captain DeGraw, and had a safety barge towed behind, 
on which an extra fare was charged as it was considered 
a safer place in case of an explosion. She was run in 
opposition to the Union Line but was hauled ofif after one 
season. 

The Trenton, a very popular and successful boat, was 
built by the Messrs. Stevens at Hoboken, in 1824, and 
commenced her trips in 1825, from Philadelphia to Tren- 
ton, was under the command of Captain Hinkle ; after 
many years' service on the Delaware waters she returned 
to New York, where she was broken up. 

The Burlington, another popular boat on the Union 
Line, was built in 1827. She ran between Philadelphia 
and Bordentown, and was commanded by Captain Kes- 
ter, a jolly fellow, full of jokes and fun. On one occasion 
the captain had on board a fine horse for a friend in Bor- 
dentown, with a request that he would see him safely 
delivered. Just after the boat left Bristol, the horse be- 
came frightened and jumped overboard. The steamer 
was stopped, the small boat lowered and the captain and 
rwo men jumped in. The captain cut the rope by Avhich 
he was fastened to the rail, and ordered the men to row 
ashore while he held up the horse's head to keep him from 
drowning. When they reached the shore the captain tried to 
get him on his feet, but the horse made no effort to move, 
when on examination it was found that the rope by which he 
was tied, being too short to allow him to reach the water, 
his neck was broken in the fall. It was a Ipng time before 
the captain heard the last of the joke of trying to save the 
life of a horse with a broken neck. On his arrival at Bris- 
tol the passengers would hail him with the salutation : 
"Good morning captain, how's your horse?" The Bur- 
lington run for many years as a successful boat, until it 
became necessary to have a larger one, when she was 
used for towing purposes. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. Ill 

The Rainbow, a narrow, sharp boat of great speed, 
built in New York, ran part of one season but was hauled 
off and put on the line from Philadelphia to Cape May, 

The New Philadelphia, built in New York, run two 
seasons, was taken back to New York, lengthened and 
run to Albany as a passenger boat under the command 
of Captain Joseph Jenkins. 

The Emerald, a New York boat, run in opposition to 
the Union Line one season, was taken back and put on 
the Albany line. 

The Swan, another New York boat, was run by the 
Union Line one season. The four last named boats ran 
between the years 1833 and 1838. 

The Hornet was built by Jacob Ridgeway up Cross- 
wick's Creek. Mr. Ridgeway built the boat and put on a 
line of stages to carry passengers to New York in oppo- 
sition to the Union Line. The opposition became so in- 
tensely bitter that the passenger fare was reduced to a 
fippenny bit (6% cents) from Philadelphia to Borden- 
town. The Union Line, to get rid of the opposition, 
bought it ofif. 

The Gazelle was run a short time by Captain Benjamin 
McMackin, who afterwards built the Edwin Forrest, 
which continued in service until a few years ago. 

The Marcus Bozarris, the Mountaineer, the Appoquini- 
mink, the Boliver, the Sun and the Balloon, all ran 
as opposition boats to the Union Line. 

The John Stevens, the Nelson and Joseph Belknap, all 
New York boats, were run in the employ of the Camden 
and Amboy Railroad Company. The Stevens was one 
of the finest boats that ever graced our waters. After 
running a few years she was destroyed by fire while lying 
at her dock at Bordentown. She was never rebuilt. 

The Richard Stockton, another splendid steamer, built 
at Wilmington, Del., for the Camden and Amboy line, 
took the place of the Stevens. She is now running in 
New York waters. 

The Thomas A. Morgan, John A. Warner, Twilight, 
Columbia and Edwin Forrest, were all built at Wilming- 
ton. These boats, with the Stockton, were built by the 



112 A HISTORY OF P.RTSTOI< BOROUGH. 

Harlan & Hollingsworth Company, and are first-class in 
construction and management. 

There was a small boat with a stern wheel run in oppo- 
sition to the Forrest one season. 

The Nelly White, Popecatlin and the Gem run as inde- 
pendent boats, but were short lived. 

There was built in the early days of steam boating" at 
Camden, N. ]., a boat called the Eagle. She made a few 
trips to Bristol, but did not succeed. 

About 1900, a rival line i)laced two boats on the river, 
to run between Trenton and Philadelphia. One was 
named the City of Trenton and the other the Quaker City. 
During the summer of 1901, the boiler of the former boat 
exploded one mile above Holmesburg, killing a number 
of persons and injuring many others. The boat taking 
fire, the pilot ran her on the flats on the Pennsylvania 
side, where she burned to the water's edge. The other 
boat was subsequently withdrawn. 

In 1903 the freight steamer Fannie, of the Wilmington 
Steamboat Company, began making daily trips between 
Bristol, Burlington and Philadelphia. The experiment 
appears to have been a failure and she was removed. 
Later the Springfield was placed on the route by a rival 
company, but was recently bought by the present com- 
pany and is still running. 

The John A. Warner is yet in active service, but is 
now known as the Burlington. The Columbia is still the 
most majestic boat on the upper Delaware. The latest 
boat on the river, which ran for a few years as the Soo, 
has now been rechristened the Bristol, and is still in 
service. 

An Interesting Record. — At the meeting of the Town 
Council, held on September 17, 1786, the following 
appears on the records : "On motion being made that the 
general expenditures of the past year should be entered 
in the book for the satisfaction of the public, it was 
unanimously agreed that the accounts should be col- 
lected and entered which are as follows, being the whole 
exi)ense of the burgess and council for one year: 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. II3 

At Charles Bessonett's: 

1785 i s. d. 

Sept. 8 3 bowls punch, 6 s.; grog, 6d 6 6 

II Bitters and wine, 6d.; i bottle of 

wine, /S. 6 d 8 

" 23 Punch, 2s. ; grog, is 3 

27 3 bottles wine, 22s., 6d. ; grog, is.; 

toddy. 8d i 4 2 

Nov. 9 I bottle wine, 7s., 6d.; 2 gills, do., 

IS., loK'd 9 4/4 

1786. 

May ig i bottle of wine 7 9 

July 31 5 bottles of porter. 12s., 6d.; i pint 

of wine, 3s.; grog, 6d 16 9 

Sept. 14 2 bowls punch 4 



^3 19 3^ 



Charles Bessonett's house at that period appears to 
have been the favorite resort for holding meetings o£ 
council. It is presumed that his accommodations were 
better than could be found elsewhere. The mind can 
readily picture councilmen of those days sitting by the 
glowing hearth before the open wood fire, calmly dis- 
cussing the afifairs of the borough and during the pro- 
ceedings of the evening partaking of liberal potations of 
seductive punch and sparkling wines. The public, it is 
presumed, wanted to know how much they drank, and 
for their "satisfaction" the above account was spread 
upon the minutes. 

First Post Office in Bucks County. — The first post- 
oftice in the county was established in 1790 at Bristol. 
Two others were in existence six years later, Morrisville 
and Plumstead (ville), and a fourth. Buckingham, was 
established after another interval of six years (1802). In 
1804, probably earlier, mail was carried twice a week be- 
tween Philadelphia, Easton and Bethlehem, by Avay of 
Doylestown. The following notice appears in the "Cor- 
respondent" of December 4, 1816: "The mail will leave 
Doylestown on Thursday morning at 2 o'clock, and arrive 
at Bristol by 8:00 in the evening; leave Bristol at 6 



114 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



o'clock Friday morning, and passing by New Hope, 
arrive at Doylestown the same evening by 8:00. Leave 
Doylestown Saturday morning at 6 o'clock and arrive at 
Lancaster on Monday by 10 o'clock; leave Lancaster at 
3 o'clock same day and arrive at Doylestown on Wednes- 
day evening by 6 o'clock. Leave Doylestown on Satur- 
day by 6 o'clock in the morning, arrive at Quakertown 
by noon ; leave Quakertown at 2 o'clock and return to 
Doylestown by 9 o'clock in the evening." The mail to 
Bristol passed through Newtown and Langhorne. A 
weekly mail from Quakertown to Durham was estab- 
lished in 1819. 




BRISTOL POST OFFICE. 



Colonel Joseph Clunn was the first postmaster at Bris- 
tol, lie opened the office at his residence on Mill Street, 
and continued it there until his death, in 1816, when his 
son-in-law, John Priestly, was appointed. The successive 
incumbents since then have been as follows : John Bes- 
sonett. John Bessonett. Jr., 1841-45, Gilbert Tomlin- 
son, 1845-49; William Kinsey. 1849-53; Samuel Pike, 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOI. BOROUGH. II5 

1853-61 ; Hugh and Charles Dongan, 1861-65 ; Nathan 
Tyler, 1865-69; Israel Tomlinson, 1869-77; Jesse B. 
Mears, 1877-85; W. B. Baker, 1885-89; James Drury, 
1889-95; W. H. H. Fine, 1895-99; Jacob Winder, 1899- 
1903 ; E. W. Minster, 1903. 

The Badger Fishery. — In 1790 there was established 
in Bristol Township one of the most valuable shad fish- 
eries in the county, that known as the Badger Fishery. 
For a number of years it rented for $1,800 for the season. 
As high as 1,700 shad and 20,000 herring, besides a large 
number of smaller fish, have been caught in one day. 
On one or two occasions sharks, of the shovel-nosed 
species, have been caught. The fishery is still in opera- 
tion and many valuable hauls of shad and herring are still 
made. 

Story of a Duel. — In 1798, while the Tenth Regiment 
of the United States Army was encamped above the 
town, a duel was fought between a Captain Sharp and his 
quartermaster, named Johnson. It appeared that both 
were in love with a young lady named McElroy, and 
for some cause Captain Sharp challenged the quarter- 
master to a duel, which took place on the Iredell farm 
above the Hollow Creek. The first shot was premature 
on the part of Sharp, who missed his opponent. Johnson 
fired his shot in the air and said if Captain Sharp would 
withdraw the challenge, the matter could be settled; he 
refused, a second shot was fired and Sharp fell mortally 
wounded. Johnson immediately left for his home in Vir- 
ginia. Sharp was taken to his boarding house, but died 
before he reached the hotel. His brother officers buried 
him and erected a monument, which has fallen to pieces, 
to his memory, leaving an inscription to be put upon the 
slab, which was never done. 

Miss McElroy never married. During a visit from 
New York to Bristol she related that on the morning 
the duel was fought Captain Sharp arose early and was 
about to leave before breakfast. She had a suspicion that 
something serious was about to take place between the 



I l6 A HISTORY OF liklSTOL BOROUGH. 

captain and qnartermaster, and requested the captain to 
remain with her, as she was fearful that he would he 
injured in a conflict with Johnson. He asked her to have 
no fear of anything serious happening- to him. He would 
dine with her at the usual hour. "Boast not thyself of 
tomorrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring 
forth." 

A Whiskey Story. — On the tract of land owned by 
Wm. Mcllvane and Alexander Graden, the Tenth Regi- 
ment of the United States Army was encamped in 1798. 
One day the "still-house" of John Booz, who lived on 
the farm now occupied by the heirs of Joseph Stackhouse, 
was broken open and a barrel of whiskey stolen. Mr. 
Booz thought the deed was done by some of the soldiers 
and called upon Captain Sharp, who commanded the 
camp, and told him of his suspicions. The captain 
promised to investigate the matter, but he was shortly 
after killed in a duel on the farm now owned by Iredell's, 
and the result of his whiskey investigation was never 
known and it remained a mystery for many years as to 
who stole the barrel. A short time before the death of 
Mr. Booz, he received a letter from a man in Ohio, saying- 
he was one of the gang of soldiers stationed near Bristol, 
who broke into the still-house and stole the barrel of 
whiskey. Hearing that they were charged with commit- 
ting the deed, and that the captain was going to investi- 
gate the matter, and fearing that they would be found 
out and punished, they removed the barrel from its hiding 
place and buried it along the creek. He stated he was 
settled on a tract of land and had become a farmer, and 
that as soon as he was able he would pay Mr. Booz for his 
loss. That barrel has never been found, although in by- 
gone days many lovers of good whiskey, with a rod of 
iron sharpened to a point, made diligent searches by prob- 
ing the ground on both sides of the creek, li the long- 
sought for barrel is ever found, it would be well for the 
finder to drink sparingly of its contents. 

Bloomsdale Ferry Lane. — During Colonial times a ferry 
was maintained aross the Delaware River at this point 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. IT/ 

and this lane (now Green Lane) was known as Blooms- 
dale Ferry Lane. The yellow house on the river bank 
was the ferry tavern, and the landing was at the low 
shore adjoining. The ferry and this lane leading from 
it, were an important east and west thoroughfare over 
one hundred years ago. 

Aaron Burr, after his unfortunate duel with Alexander 
Hamilton in 1804, fled to the west . His journey took him 
through New Jersey, and when he reached the Delaware 
he crossed over on the Bloomsdale ferry and stayed over 
night at the Yellow Tavern. The Yellow Tavern is sup- 
posed to have been built about 1750. (Contributed by 
Leopold Landreth.) 

Bela Badger. — The Bristol island meadows, on the 
Delaware, below Bristol, forming a tract of rich meadow 
land, were acquired by Samuel Carpenter in 1688. They 
were then called Burden's Island, said to contain 815)4 
acres, and were described as lying between Mill Creek 
and Hog Creek. In 1716 Hannah Carpenter and sons 
conveyed the island to a purchaser. In 1774 an island 
near this, containing about forty acres, called Lesser 
Island, was conveyed by John Clark to John Kidd. In 
1807 Bela Badger bought the Fairview and Belle 
Meadow farms, lying south of Bristol, and afterwards 
Bristol Island, then called Yonkin's, and subsequently 
Badger's Island. The tide ebbed and flowed between the 
island and mainland. Bela Badger came from Connecti- 
cut and for thirty years was a prominent citizen of Bris- 
tol. He owned 800 acres in all, fronting on the Delaware. 
He spent several thousand dollars in banking out the 
river from part of his land, and recovered 350 acres of 
very fine meadow land, and also spent a large sum to im- 
prove his fishery, known as the Badger Fishery, which 
he made one of the best on the river. Mr. Badger was a 
breeder of blooded horses, and dealt largely in fast stock. 
He made the first match against Eclipse with Sir Walter, 
and was beaten. He was connected with Colonel William 
R. Johnson, of Virginia, in the famous match of Henry 
against Eclipse, for $20,000 a side, run on Long Island in 
May, 1823, and others fif equal note. He was the owner 



Il8 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

of Hickory, the sire of some of the finest colts since Mes- 
senger's day. He imported the celebrated horse Valen- 
tine, and was interested in the ownership of some of the 
best blooded horses of that day. Mr. Badger stood high 
in the sporting world, and was considered by all a man 
of integrity. He died in 1839, without family. 

The Celebrated Bath Springs House. — This ancient 
structure, which was erected in 1810, was once the resort 
for the elite of the country. Even visitors from Europe 
poured their gold into the proprietor's cofifers while they 
lingered at this pleasant old-time resort and bathed in the 
wonderful water, which flowed from the famous spring 
nearby. To thi« spring the house owed its existence and 
the popularity which drew to its shelter such men as 
Gneral Mifflin, of Revolutionary fame; General Cadwala- 
der. Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia; James Sime 
Ento and Don De Onis, Spanish Ministers, and such cele- 
brated people as Joseph Bonaparte, the Biddies, Baron 
Ludwig, the Prussian Consul, and a host of others well 
known in the neighborhood of the Quaker City over a 
century ago. 

At the close of the war with Great Britain in 1816. a 
brilliant company gathered at the old mansion and cele- 
brated the close of the struggle by a long-remembered 
ball, in which stately belles danced the minuet with dis- 
tinguished army and navy officers, who had won their 
spurs in the conflict just ended. Festoons and flags cov- 
ered the house, while Chinese lanterns decorated every 
tree. A dinner was given at 4 o'clock in the morning, at 
which statesmen, congressmen and foreign representa- 
tives sat down side by side. Among them was the Span- 
ish Minister, Don De Onis, who lived near by. His 
daughter was shortly after married by proxy to a young 
officer in Spain. The ceremony was performed by Father 
Hogan, of Philadelphia, and is said to have been the first 
marriage of the kind in this country. 

Outside of the great, lumbering coaches, which every 
family of means possessed in those days, the only means 
of conveyance was by stage. The turnpike between 
Philadelphia and Trenton had been constructed but a 



i 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. IIQ 

short time and three rival lines of stages jolted the 
guests over the road to their destination. Joseph Bona- 
parte, who lived in state at Bordentown, was a frequent 
visitor in his barge of state, presented him by Stephen 
Girard, and was often accompanied by Prince Murat. The 
exiled prince was so charmed with the neighborhood and 
the people whom he met that he would have taken up his 
residence in Bristol had not the laws of Pennsylvania at 
that time precluded a foreigner from holding land. 

The springs were known to exist as early as 1700. 
Their value for medicinal purposes was not appreciated, 
however, for many years ; the early settlers speaking of 
the water, which is chalybeate in character, as "that nasty 
water." It was nearly 1720 before the colonists began to 
use the water for drinking and bathing. Dr. Rush, in 
1773, read a paper before the Philadelphia Philosophical 
Society in which he highly recommended the water of the 
Bath Springs at Bristol as a cure for many diseases. After 
this the price of board took a sudden rise in Bristol and 
the town rose rapidly in importance as a fashionable 
watering place. A Philadelphia newspaper of 1801, said: 
"The Bristol baths and Clialybeate Springs are completed 
in a most commodious manner." 

The springs were bought by Dr. Joseph Minnick in 
1807. He improved the place by building the old hotel, 
which has been torn down, and laying out a race course 
on the adjoining grounds. For ten years following the 
Bath Springs were at the zenith of their popularity, but 
a law was passed by the legislature which compelled the 
race track to close. This, coupled with the discovery of 
Saratoga Springs, in 1822, reduced the famous old resort 
to a shadow of its former self until it was finally sold to 
be used as a private residence. Doctor Gill, a French 
surgeon of Napoleon's army, became the owner and lived 
in its shady retreat for many years. 

Later the grounds were used by the militia, on "Train- 
ing Day," and as an excursion resort. They were then 
much frequented by the old volunteer firemen of Phila- 
delphia. These last were not always guarded in their con- 
duct when away from home and they made the Springs a 
scene of riotous dissipation. So ungovernable their con- 



I20 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROL'GII. 

duct finally became that the boats were forbidden to land 
excursions at Bristol. 

In 1870 a new road was cut through the old property 
as the march of improvement went on, and the bath- 
houses were removed. The ruins of the old hotel re- 
mained for several years overlooking a mill pond 200 
years old. Water continued to bubble from the famous 
springs, and still retained their former properties. Today 
the site is the property of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
Company, which is building its new line of road through 
the town, and touching the end of this once famous resort. 
Thus a few months will see the "Saratoga" of our grand- 
father swept into utter oblivion. 

The first mention of the Bath Springs in the records of 
the borough was made in 1769, although in Bache's His- 
tory of Bristol Borough, it is stated the Springs first ob- 
tained celebrity in 1722. The borough record of the 
meeting of August 7, 1769, shows that it was then a popu- 
lar spot. The record says : "The Bristol Bath and Wells 
have at a very considerable expense been put in order 
for the reception of the sick and diseased, and numbers of 
persons by using the same have received benefit there- 
from, but it being represented to the burgesses and coun- 
cil that the good purposes intended thereby, from the 
number of idle and disorderly persons who constantly 
resort there, especially on the first day of the week, com- 
monly called Sunday, may in a great measure defeat the 
good purposes intended thereby, we therefore, in order 
to put a stop to the same, do order and ordain, that every 
person (not a housekeeper, or such who are sent by their 
parents, masters or mistresses for some of the water), 
that shall be found loitering about or within the limits 
of the said Bath, shall by either of the constables or 
Bath keejier. for the time being, be immediately taken 
into custody, unless they disj)erse at the request of either 
of the constables or Bath keeper." 

The First Sunday School. — The first Sunday School 
opened in Bristol Avas by two maiden ladies, members of 
the Society of Friends, and daughters of Phineas Buck- 
lev, about the vear 181 1. The school was held in their 



I 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 121 

father's house, which stood on the river bank near Penn 
Street, and was called a First Day School. Children were 
taught in the New Testament scriptures only. The wife 
of the late William Kinsey attended this school in 1813. 
In the year i8i6,a Union Sunday School was organized 
by the Rev. Richard D. Hall, rector of St. James' Protes- 
tantEpiscopalChurch, John Adams, a local preacher in the 
Alethodist Episcopal Church, John McElway, Joseph 
King, Henry Tomlinson and other members of St. James' 
P. E. Church and the M. E. Church. It was held in the 
upper room of the old courthouse, on Sunday afternoons, 
and was continued until 1822, when the Rev. Hall re- 
signed his pastorate and was succeeded by the Rev. Wm. 
Jaquette, who opened a school in the rectory of St. James' 
Church, which was held on Sunday mornings. The mem- 
bers of the M. E. Church organized their school in 1822, 
in their church on Wood Street, the session being held on 
Sunday afternoon. John Adams and Henry Tomlinson 
Avere the first superintendents. 

Bristol's Old Time People. — Among the wealthy and 
enterprising men who resided in Bristol in the early part 
of the last century was Joseph Head. He lived in the 
house previously occupied by the Spanish Minister, now 
owned by Ernest Lawrence. He was a man of fine per- 
sonal appearance, of gentlemanly manners, and an ac- 
ceptable companion in the higher orders of society. It 
Avas through his infiuence and liberality that some of the 
finest residences on the river bank were erected. He built 
the mansion, later removed by Messrs. Pursell and Feni- 
more, to make room for the erection of their two beauti- 
ful mansions, one of which is still occupied by Dr. Pur- 
sell. and the other by Stanford K. Runyon. The house 
was built in 1815 and was occupied for several years by 
[Major Kneas, of the United States Army. Mr. Head also 
built the house now occupied by the family of the late 
Henry Morris, on the river bank. Mr. Head removed 
from Bristol to Philadelphia about the year 1824. His de- 
parture was regretted by the citizens, but to none more 
so than the boys to whom he was a friend. Many a dollar 



122 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

he contributed to the celebration on Fourth of July, and 
on other public occasions. 

George Breck, one of Bristol's noble citizens, pur- 
chased the Major Kneas property and occupied it until 
his death at an advanced age. Mr. Breck was active in all 
good works and was a brother of Samuel Breck, one of 
Philadelphia's wealthy and enterprising citizens, who, 
while a member of the senate of Philadelphia in 1832, pre- 
sented the first resolution for the passage of the common 
school law. 

Thomas A. Cooper, the celebrated actor, purchased the 
property now occupied by the family of the late Henry 
Morris, and resided in it for many years. Mr, Cooper 
was an actor of reputation in England as well as America. 
He married a Miss Farley of New York, whose death was 
the cause of much sorrow by those with whom she was 
intimate. Mr. Cooper had several children ; his son 
graduated at West Point, entered the army and was sta- 
tioned in Georgia. He resigned his position to accept 
the ofifice of chief engineer of a railroad. One of Mr. 
Cooper's daughters married Robert Tyler, son of Presi- 
dent Tyler. The female department of the White House 
was entrusted to her care and management. Her en- 
tertainments excelled in tasteful and ornamental display, 
such was the testimony of those who visited the Presi- 
dent's mansion. A writer on the Reminiscences of Wash- 
ington, speaking of Mrs. Tyler, says : "that since the days 
of Mrs. Madison, no one of the eminent ladies who pre- 
sided over the afifairs of the White House, were more 
dignified and lady-like than was Mrs. Tyler." Mr. Cooper 
was a man of fine appearance but a little austere in his 
manners. As an actor, none had a higher reputation. He 
was kind hearted and liberal in his intercourse with his 
neighbors, loved a joke, none of which he enjoyed more 
heartily when relating it, than the one that was passed 
upon him while walking up Broadway, New York. On 
one occasion at one of the cross streets, stood two black 
boys, chimney sweeps. As he passed them one remarked 
to the other. "Sam, thar goes Cooper, the play actor." 
His companion replied : "Pshaw, nigger ! what you want 



i 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I23 

to talk like dat? You don't know what you may come to 
'fore wou die." 

Joseph and Abraham Warner owned and operated the 
Bristol flouring mills, and did an extensive business in 
grain and lumber. They had the confidence and esteem 
of all with whom they associated in public or private life. 
They filled the highest offices in the borough and were 
prominent actors in all matters that related to the welfare 
and prosperity of the people. They gave liberally to the 
poor and for the relief of all who were oppressed, bond 
or free. Both were members of the Society of Friends 
and strong abolitionists. At one time, in 1839, when the 
school board had granted permission for an abolitionist, 
name Burleigh, to speak in the school building on a Sun- 
day afternoon, and his entrance was blocked by an angry 
mob, Joseph Warner, who accompanied the speaker was 
thrown to the ground and received severe bruises. He 
afterward addressed the people and, finding it impossible 
to reason with them, announced that the meeting would be 
held in the Friends' Meeting House, and invited all to go 
and hear the speaker. Joseph Warner was elected chief 
burgess in 1825 and again elected in the years 1826, 1827, 
1829, 1830 and 1831. 

A Queer Custom. — Evidently in the early history of 
Bristol, the question of finding fuel was stipulated in the 
contract or lease of rented property, between the landlord 
and tenant. In proof of this, Mr. C. Wesley Milnor has 
in his possession a paper reading as follows : 

"Bristol, Pa., January 10, 1799. 
"To Ann Brelsford: 

"This is to inform thee, that if thee stays in my house another 
year, thee must pay me £16 pounds per year, and find thy own 
firewood, and thee must come here shortly and let me know 
whether thee concludes to stay or no." 

There is no signature attached to make it complete, but 
we infer that it was written in good faith in accordance 
with the customs of that period. 

A House With a History. — The old house situated on 
Radcliffe Street near Jefferson Avenue, now owned by 
the St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church and used as a 

9 



124 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



home for the sisters who teach in the parish Parochial 
School, is one of the most historical houses in Bristol. 
A short history of the premises and the man who built the 
house and the purposes for which it has been used makes 
an interesting story. 

The ground is a part of a tract of land of i.ooo acres, 
conveyed by deed of Wm. Whittecar and wife to Alexan- 
der Graydon and William Mclllvain in 1752. Wm. Mc- 
Illvain was a brother of Bishop Mclllvain, of the P. E. 
Church. Both Graydon and Mclllvain were residents of 
Bristol and members of St. James' P. E. Church. The 
original tract was subsequently sold to different parties. 
A part, containing fifty-one acres, was bought by John 




ST. MARKS K. C. CONVENT. 

Reed, who built the Mansion House in 1816, and occu- 
pied it until he removed from Bristol to Maryland, about 
the year 1821. His life was an eventful one; he never 
knew his ])arents, his mother, in his infancy, placed him 
in a bunch of reed.s on the banks of Mill Creek, in Bris- 
tol, and abandoned him. It was near the residence of 
William Davis, a ship carpenter, whose wife, just before 
retiring to bed, said to her husband : "I hear the cries of a 
baby," and wanted him to go out and see what was the 
matter. He thought she must be mistaken, as he heard 



A HISTORY OB' BRISTOL BOROUGH. I25 

nothing unusual. She insisted. A lantern was lit, when 
on opening the door the cries were plainly heard. Fol- 
lowing in the direction of the sound they came to a bunch 
of reeds in which lay a bundle. It was carried into the 
house and proved to be a male infant about six weeks old. 
Can a mother forsake a suckling child? Yes, she may, 
but in the providence of Him who said "suffer little chil- 
dren to come unto me," there is always a kind-hearted 
woman to care for the little waif. Nothing was ever heard 
of his parentage. He was adopted by his foster parents, 
educated and learned the trade of his benefactor, who, on 
his coming of age, delivered up to him his business and 
retired. He carried on the business for many years, be- 
came one of Bristol's most enterprising citizens, was a 
large owner of property; he built some of the finest brick 
dwellings erected in his day. He bought a farm in Mary- 
land and became a farmer, living to a good old age, loved 
and respected by all who knew him. 

Many eminent men owned and occupied the place, 
among whom was James Johnson, who went south, made 
a fortune at carriage building, returned and occupied the 
premises several years. He sold to a Dr. Martin, a retired 
physician, from Philadelphia, who sold to a Mr. Richard- 
son, a merchant, who realized a handsome fortune from 
his trade with the West Indies. He sold to a Mrs. War- 
ren, an English lady, who sold to Cyrus Peirce, a retired 
farmer; he occupied it for many years, during which it 
was the abiding place of the oppressed. Many a poor 
slave from the south on his way to the land of freedom in 
the north, found food and shelter in that hospitable home. 
After the death of Mr. Peirce, and his wife, at the good 
old ages of 90 years, the property was divided among his 
children. The homestead came in possession of his 
daughters, who opened a boarding and day school for 
girls, which was extensively patronized, so that it became 
necessary for them to enlarge their building for the 
accommodation of their pupils. The property was sold 
to a syndicate and the school was continued by Miss A. 
Merriam for some time, when she was compelled to give 
it up on account of her health. 

The house was next bought by a noble-hearted gentle- 



126 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

man, who after putting everything in complete order for 
the comfort and happiness of the inmates who should be 
admitted, within its precincts, presented it to the Wom- 
an's Christian Association, of Philadelphia, as a home for 
girls. It was continued for some time under the name of 
the Whelan Home for Girls, but was finally sold to St. 
Marks' Church for the purpose heretofore mentioned. 

"Yet still will memory's busy eye retrace, 
Each little vestage of the well-known place." 

Dick Shad, the Runaway Slave. — There lived in Bristol 
about the year 1818, a colored man named Richard Rus- 
sell, alias Dick Shad. He was a runaway slave from 
Virginia, and made his way to Attleborough and stopped 
at the house of a friend, who, learning that he had run 
away from his master, gave him employment and kept 
him on the farm for a year. There being no travel from 
the Southern states in those days to that part of Bucks 
County, the underground railroad upon which so many 
of the South's valuable chattels escaped from bondage to 
the land of freedom, had no existence in that early day. 
Dick remained undiscovered by his master. Believing 
himself to be safe in his new home, he married and started 
in business. He succeeded in getting a horse and wagon 
and commenced the business of huckster. In the fishing 
season his principal business was buying and selling shad. 
He was industrious and saving. Being fluent in speech, 
he made many friends, who assisted him in his business. 
He moved to Bristol, bought a piece of ground on Market 
Street, erected a home and lived there many years. He 
was reluctant to tell his last name, preferring to be called 
Dick, hence he became known as Dick Shad. He estab- 
lished the first hack line for the transportation of pas- 
sengers, which proved a success, but in the midst of his 
prosperity there came a sore trial which nearly deprived 
him of his liberty. On one occasion a gentleman from 
Virginia came to Bristol to attend the races. He em- 
ployed Dick to drive him to the race course. On the way 
the gentleman said : "I think I have seen you before. Did 
you not once live in the South?" Dick, not suspecting 
his passenger knew anything of his once being in slavery, 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 127 

replied that he had once lived in Virginia. The gentle- 
man on his return home, living in the neighborhood of his 
master, informed him that whilst on a visit to Bristol he 
had met his old slave, who drove him to the race course. 
Colonel Russell desirous to recover his property, came to 
Bristol with his overseer and stopped at the Delaware 
House. While he was standing on the portico Dick 
drove down to the steamboat landing. He was recog- 
nized by his master, who immediately went to Esquire 
Bache's office and took out a warrant for his recovery. 
When Dick appeared before the Justice, the Colonel said : 
"Richard I am glad to see you again. I have missed you 
very much during the years you have been from home." 
Dick replied, "I don't know you. What you want with 
me? I never saw you before. I never was your slave." 
It soon became known that a man from the South had ar- 
rested Dick Shad, claiming him as his slave who had run 
away from his plantation in Virginia. Among the citi- 
zens who flocked to the Justice's office were Joseph and 
Abraham Warner, Friends, who with others, were de- 
termined Dick should not be taken back into slavery if 
they could prevent it. Colonel Russell, in supporting his 
claim presented a certified copy of his father's will in 
which it stated that Richard, with other slave children 
were willed to him. His overseer testified that he had 
lived with Colonel Russell over twenty years; that he 
knew Richard as his slave ; that he was his master's 
coachman for several years before he ran away. Abraham 
Warner acted as counsel for Dick. He contended that 
the testimony was not clear enough to warrant the Jus- 
tice in deciding to send this man into salvery. Some of 
the people became very much excited and counselled re- 
sistence against his being sent back. During the investi- 
gation Dick became greatly enraged. He declared he 
would die fighting for his liberty; pulled ofif his coat and 
dared any man to lay hands on him. It began to look, 
from the sympathy manifested for him by those present, 
that there would be an effort to prevent his being taken 
back into slavery, should the Justice decide in favor of 
his master. Friend Warner requested the people not to 
commit a breach of the peace. Should the Justice decide 



128 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

to deliver him up, they would appeal the case to court. 
Colonel Russell, fearing from the excitement on the part 
of the people, that resistance would be made to his tak- 
ing Dick back into slavery should the decision be made 
in his favor, made a speech in support of his claim to 
Richard as his slave. He said he had produced a certi- 
fied copy of his father's will, showing that he had been 
willed to him, and the testimony of the overseer estab- 
lished the fact that he had been in his possession as a 
slave. Friend Warner said the testimony of the over- 
seer had not been supported by other witnesses and this 
man ought not to be sent into slavery on the testimony of 
one man. The Colonel then said he would mention an- 
other circumstance — that at the time Richard ran away 
he missed a gold watch that belonged to his father. Dili- 
gent search had been made for it, but it was never found. 
He suspected Richard had taken it as he had access to 
the house. A part of his duty besides taking care of his 
horses was to wait on the table. That from what he had 
seen when Richard had his coat ofif on the present occa- 
sion, he was in possession of a watch, the chain of which 
bore resemblance of that attached to his father's watch, 
which was a double case gold watch ; that it had the ini- 
tials of his father's name on the inside of the case, "R. T. 
R." That the chain was made of plaited hair, on which 
was a gold clasp and a large gold-rimmed key, enclosing 
a reddish stone, on which was engraved a man with a gun 
and dog; he desired that the watch be produced. Dick 
declared he had no such watch in his possession. One of 
the citizens present said he had seen a watch in his pos- 
session. The Justice told him he must produce it. He 
persisted in saying he had no such watch. Friend War- 
ner said to him, "Richard, if thee has a watch let me see 
it." He then handed him the watch, saying he bought it 
from a colored man. Upon examination it proved to be 
the watch described by the Colonel. The Justice said the 
testimony was sufficient to warrant him in delivering 
Richard to his master. The Colonel asked for a commit- 
ment to take him to jail until he could take him back to 
Virginia. Dick became very much excited and plead 
with the people not to sufifer him to be taken to Virginia. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I29 

He would rather die on the spot than be taken back. A 
proposition was made to raise by subscription, money to 
purchase his freedom. A committee was appointed to 
wait on the Colonel to ascertain on what terms he would 
grant him his freedom. He said he was a valuable man 
to him, that he not only had a right to his services, but 
he had a claim upon his son, a boy about 14 years old, but 
if they would pay him $500 and deliver up the watch, he 
would give him his freedom papers. The committee then 
waited on the citizens soliciting donations. They suc- 
ceeded in raising $150, the most of which was given by 
the Warners. The committee again waited on the 
Colonel to see if he would agree to take a lesser sum, as 
they could not raise the amount demanded. He said 
Richard and his son would be worth to him in Virginia 
$1,500. The committee said the boy's mother, on hearing 
the Justice's decision had packed up his clothes and bade 
him run for his life, and that he had left the town. The 
Colonel finally agreed to take $350 and the watch. A 
Friend said he would loan Richard $200. The money was 
paid with the watch and Richard Russell, alias Dick 
Shad, became a free man. Thus ended the first and only 
slave case ever tried in Bristol. Dick's son never returned 
to Bristol. His parents never heard from him or knew 
what became of him. 

The Farmers' National Bank. — The Farmers' Bank, 
the first in the county, was organized in 1814. The books 
for svibscriptions were opened at various points from 
August 8th to the 19th, and the commissioners met at 
Doylestown on the 20th. The stockholders met at Har- 
mon Mitchener's, Milford (now Hulmeville), in Middle- 
town, December 5th, to choose directors and fix upon a 
place for locating the bank. The directors chose John 
Hulme the first president, and George Harrison the 
cashier. Joseph Pickering was elected clerk. A portion 
of the house of George Hulme was occupied as a bank- 
ing room, and the president was directed to procure a 
large chest made of strong plank, covered with sheet iron, 
and secured by strong locks and bolts in a secret manner. 
This box is still in the possession of the bank, kept as a 



130 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL. BOROUGH. 



relic of its early days. Joseph Hulme became president 
in 1818, John Newbold in 1821, Anthony Taylor in 1823, 
John Paxson, Anthony Burton, Caleb N. Taylor and 
Benjamin Taylor subsequently. George Harrison was 
succeeded as cashier by William Newbold in 1823 ; Rob- 
ert C. Beatty was elected to this office in 1827; C. T. Ire- 
dell in 1867, and Charles E. Scott, the present incumbent, 
in 1882. The original capital was $60,000. This was in- 
creased to $90,000 in 1836, and to $92,220 in 
1837, at which sum ' it has since remained. 
It was reorganized as a national bank January 
13, 1865. and has been rechartered. The surplus fund is 




FARMERS NATIONAL DANK. 



almost three times as much as its capital. The bank re- 
mained in Hulmeville until 1830, when it was removed 
to Bristol and located in Dr. Pursell's building on Mill 
Street, now occupied as a bakery by Axel Swain. In 
1833 it was removed to its present'location The building 
it now occupies was built in 1818 by James Craig, of 
Philadelphia, for a summer residence at a cost of $15,000. 
Mr. Craig resided in the building until his death, and it 
was afterward occupied by his sisters. During their 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I3I 

occupancy Lieutenant Hunter, of the navy, who killed 
young' Miller of Philadelphia, in a duel, and his second. 
Lieutenant Burns, were both secreted in the building un- 
til public indignation had subsided and they were sus- 
pended. They were both afterward restored and Hunter 
became the somewhat celebrated "Alvarado" Hunter. 

First Woolen Mill. — A woolen mill was erected in 1815 
by Joseph and Abraham Warner, at that point on the 
south side of Mill* Street now occupied by the canal and 
the railroad. It was a three-story frame building, forty 
by eighty feet, and comprised 780 spindles, with the 
requisite cording" and other machinery, two hand looms 
for weaving satinets, and six looms for plaids and checks, 
employing twenty-four hands. The mill was leased to 
Isaac Pitcher. A dispute arose between him and the 
owners, involving his right to use the water power when 
there was not sufficient to run both mills. Pitcher was 
defeated in the courts. He removed his machinery to 
Groveville, N. J., and the abandoned building was after- 
ward destroyed by fire. 

Sime Ento, the Spanish Minister. — Among the many 
families of wealth and social position, who have lived in 
Bristol from time to time, was one Sime Ento, the Span- 
ish Minister of the United States. He lived on Radcliffe 
street in the house now owned by Ernest Lawrence, next 
door to the Elks' Home. It is related that he built a 
miniature fort at the foot of his grounds facing the river, 
upon which two small brass cannon were mounted. There 
were two sets of halyards upon the flagstaffs, one for the 
flag of Spain and the other for the national colors of this 
country. On a certain Fourth of July occasion William 
Gosline, who had charge of the munitions of war, was 
directed to run up the flags. He did so in such a way as 
to place the stars and stripes above the flag of Spain, 
Sime Ento inquired with some surprise why they were 
not run up tog-ether, upon which Gosline replied, "His 
country's flag first, and those of others afterward," a sen- 
timent which his master was generous enough to appre- 
ciate. He was recalled after some years and succeeded as 



132 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

minister by Don De Onis, who took up his residence on 
RadcHffe Street, and laid out the grounds adjoining with 
care and taste. It is said that the marriage by proxy of 
his daughter and a Spanish army officer was the first cere- 
mony so performed in this country. It occurred at high 
noon in both countries, Father Hogan, of Philadelphia, 
officiating at Bristol. Augustus Claudious, the German 
consul at Philadelphia ; Baron Ludwig, of Prussia, and 
Captain Piquet, of the French navy, all resided here and 
as the representatives of their respective governments, 
added much to the wealth and respectability of the 
community. 

Don de Onis lived in the house adjoining the residence 
of Robert Clark, on RadcHffe Street, two doors north of 
the old Presbyterian Church. The lot embraced all the 
land between Radcliffe, Mulberry and Cedar Streets, to 
the line of the property now occupied by E. W. Minster. 
The grounds were laid out in serpentine walks, artificial 
bridges and planted with beautiful shrubbery. Don de 
Onis had two daughters and they could be seen morning 
and evening with their governess, promenading through 
the garden sketching whatever was beautiful and attract- 
ive. The elder daughter was an artist of considerable 
merit. Her drawing of the scenery along the river bank, 
the island opposite, with Burlington in the distance, was 
a beautiful picture. She took it to Spain to show her 
friends the beautiful home she occupied in Bristol. 

Augustus Claudius the German Consul, lived in the 
house recently demolished, where the Elks' new home is 
now erected. He bought the lot at the corner of Rad- 
cliffe and Walnut Streets, enclosed it with a high wire 
fence and laid it out in beautiful plots for a playground 
for his children. He became involved in financial diffi- 
culties and his property was sold, and Paul Beck, of Phil- 
adelphia, who advanced him large sums of money, be- 
came the owner, and Claudius returned with his family 
to Germany. 

Baron Ludwig, the Consul from Prussia, with his wife 
and daughter, boarded with J. R. Scott, who kept the 
Cross Keys Hotel, now occupied by Franklin Gilkeson 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH, I33 

as a real estate office, and Emil Martin as a drug store. 
The daughter died of scarlet fever and was buried in St. 
James' graveyard. A broken column marks the place 
where the little one is interred. 

Antonie Furey Piquot, Knight of the Order of St. 
Louis, captain in the French navy, came to Bristol from 
Boston. He stopped with Mr. Bessonett, who kept the 
Delaware House, where he remained a year and then 
rented a house. He was wounded in a duel with a fel- 
low officer, which rendered him unfit for duty in the navy. 
He died in 1845, ^"<J was buried in St. James' churchyard. 

Bristolians Drafted Into Military Service in War of 

1812. — Under date of October 17, 1814, the following 
record is made : "The inhabitants of the Borough of Bris- 
tol were notified to a meeting at the council chamber, at 
3 o'clock, to consider the best mode of relieving those 
families of drafted militia that may be in want. It was 
the opinion of the meeting, that the burgesses and coun- 
cil were the most suitable to provide the means and ap- 
point the committee to inquire into the wants of their 
families. The borough officers agreed to meet at the 
house of John Bessonett, at 6 o'clock in the evening, to 
consider on the above business. The borough officers met 
agreeably to agreement : 'Whereas it appears necessary 
that a certain sum of money should be appropriated for 
the use of the drafted militiamen's families; Resolved, 
that $ioo be appropriated for said use.' " 

Jones' Ship Yard. — In the early part of the last century, 
a shipbuilding industry was founded at the junction of 
the Delaware River and Adams Hollow Creek, by 
Messrs. Kirk and Lamb. They were succeeded by a 
man named Thompson. The latter sold his business to 
Risley and White, and they, in turn, were succeeded by 
Captain William Jones. Although the industry has been 
discontinued for upwards of thirty years, yet the name 
has clung to the location, and to those of this generation 
it is still known as Jones' shipyard. During the years 
when the yard was in operation, many large and costly 
schooners were built and it is the purpose of this article 
to give the names of as many as can be remembered by 



134 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

some of our oldest citizens, to whom the writer is in- 
debted for the information here given. 

Between 1840 and 1850, two schooners were built for 
Terrence Brady, Sr., a resident of Bristol Township. One 
was named George Washington, in honor of the 
"father of our country," and the other the Enterprise, 
the latter one being in charge of Captain James McClain, 
Both schooners were of 150 tons each. The next one built 
about 1852, was a large schooner, perhaps 250 tons, 
named Adele Felicia, for a daughter of James Johnson, 
an old resident of Bristol and a stockholder in the vessel. 
She was commanded by Captain Rackett, a prominent 
resident of New Jersey. 

The following schooners were next built in the order 
named : Harriet and Sarah, named for the two daugh- 
ters of Captain William Tice; Thomas C. Worth, about 
300 tons, built for parties in Philadelphia and lost on her 
first voyage ; Mary A. Bromley, Captain Daniel T. 
Muncey, a resident of Bristol, and owned by New Haven, 
Conn., parties ; Increase, which also went to an Eastern 
port; Isaac Anderson, owned by residents of New Jersey; 
Allan Downing, built for Captain Edward Rice and other 
Bristol residents ; Emeline Rickey, Captain Lewis Tice, 
named for a daughter of Kirkbride Rickey, a farmer in 
Bristol Township and a stockholder; Reindeer, owned 
by Captain Lemuel Jarvis and others. 

The James Buchanan, a 300-ton schooner was built 
in 1856, for Captain Albert De Groot and other residents 
of Bristol. She sailed from here in the fall of 1856 with 
her first cargo of coal for New Orleans, where she arrived 
safely, and was subsequently sold at a good figure to 
parties who sent her to Cuba. From there she sailed to 
the coast of Africa, bringing back a load of slaves for 
Cuba. Twice afterwards, she sailed to Africa and brought 
back a cargo of slaves. On her last trip she was chased 
by a British man-of-war, but being a fast sailer, she 
reached her destination first, landed her slaves, then ran 
into the Bay of Honduras, and was burned by her crew, 
who made their escape in small boats. 

The next schooner to be built was the Nathan Tyler, 
named for one of the stockholders. She was commanded 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I35 

by Captain George D. Hunter, a promising and well 
built young man. In December, 1857, the vessel encoun- 
tered a severe gale of wind. The Captain, who was at the 
wheel, gave orders to heave the anchor overboard and 
ran to help the crew. In the excitement. Captain Hunter 
picked up the anchor himself and threw it into the water, 
thus saving the schooner from damage, but injuring him- 
self internally, from which injuries he died in a few days, 
leaving a widow and one child, a little boy. His remains 
were interred in the M. E. burial ground, of which 
church he was a much respected member. The schooner 
Wm. H. White was next built and commanded by Cap- 
tain John Montgomery. This was followed by the "An- 
thony Burton, Captain Levi Johnson commanding, and 
the sloop Catch Me If You Can, belonging to D. Lan- 
dreth & Son, and commanded by Captain Henry Hibbs. 

The Lucius H. Scott, a schooner of 300 tons, and 
owned by her Captain, Lemuel Jarvis and other resi- 
dents of Bristol, was built on the upper side of the Hol- 
low Creek. She was loaded with coal and went down 
one calm morning ofif Fire Island, near New York, caused 
by a break in her water pipes in the state room. Her crew 
escaped in small boats. 

The following schooners owned by Bristol parties were 
built elsewhere : Mary Tice, Captain James Tice ; Jessie 
W. Knight, Captain Charles Fenton; Ellwood Doron, 
Captain Lemuel Jarvis ; Gilbert Green, Captain John 
Fisher; John C. Henry, Captain Herbert M. Fenton; 
Hannah Warwick, Captain Somers Warwick ; Ellwood 
Burton ; Margaret Mary, Captain Morris Lawrence ; 
Hile Wright, Captain John Fisher; Lizzie D. Small, 
Captain Lewis Tice ; Mattie E. Hand, Captain E. C. 
Hand ; John Dorrance, Captain Edward Rice. The last 
named boat left New York, December 23rd, 1864, for 
Philadelphia, with a cargo of loose barley. While near- 
ing Cape May a violent wind and blinding snow storm 
Avas encountered and after three unsuccessful efforts to 
enter the capes, the vessel was blown on her beam ends 
and the barley getting wet shifted, rendering the schooner 
unmanageable and driving her some 500 miles toward the 
Bahama Islands. The crew were kept at the pumps day 



136 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

and night. Their provisions being spoiled by the salt 
water, they lived on roasted barley for sixteen days, 
when they were rescued by a passing steamer and car- 
ried to New York. William Munce, Sr., was the steward 
on this vessel and during his life, gave many thrilling 
accounts of the disaster. 

Captain Heiss, who lived in the house now owned and 
occupied by Jessie W. Knight on Radcliffe Street, oper- 
ated a boat yard which extended to the property owned 
by G. M. Dorrance at the corner of Radcliffe and Mul- 
berry streets. Captain Jacob Johnson, Sr., who fol- 
lowed the water many years, bought the sloop New Jer- 
sey, brought her to Bristol and had her repaired and en- 
larged on the ground where Dr. Lehman's residence now 
stands. The sloop was wrecked on Cornfield Shoals. 

Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King of Spain. — It is said that 
on the arrival of Joseph Bonaparte in America in 1816, 
in looking at several properties with a view of purchas- 
ing, he was much pleased with two in the neighborhood 
of Bristol ; the one owned by D. Landreth & Sons above, 
and the place called China Retreat, below the borough, 
one of which he would have purchased had it not been 
that the laws of Pennsylvania prohibited a foreigner from 
holding real estate. New Jersey had a similar law. The 
legislature repealed it as an inducement for him to settle 
in their state. He purchased a large tract of land at Bor- 
dentown and spent many thousands of dollars in build- 
ings and improvement of the land. New Jersey has since 
been called Spain. 

Major Lenox and the Keene Mansion. — Major Lenox 
who represented the government of the United States at 
the court of St. James, was a resident of Bristol for 
many years. He built the splendid mansion known as 
the Miss Keene's residence, which she occupied many 
years after the major's death. It was built in 1816 during 
the residence of the major and his lady in Bristol. They 
were visited by many distinguished men of this country 
and Europe. Joseph Bonaparte, ex-king of Spain, whose 
residence was at Bordentown, N. J., was a frequent vis- 
itor. He would come down the river in his splendid 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



137 



barge accompanied by his nephew, Prince Murat, rowed 
by four oarsmen, with the American and French flags 
flying fore and aft. Some times he would drive down, 
coming by way of Trenton. On one of his visits he met 
with an accident that came near being a serious matter. 
In those days it was a custom in repairing the roads by 
the supervisors, to scrape out the dirt so that the water 
could pass from one side of the road to the other ; they 




THE KEENE MANSION, RADCLIFFE STREET. 



were called fall-backs. In crossing one, the driver, not 
noticing it, was thrown from his seat. The horses be- 
came frightened and started on a run. Bonaparte opened 
the door of the carriage and jumped out. He fell on his 
head and was unable to rise. Dr. Phillips, who was re- 
turning from a visit to one of his patients in Tullytown, 
overtook the driver who informed him of the accident. 
The doctor whipped up his horse and found the ex-king 
sitting by the roadside. After examination, finding no 
fracture of the limbs, he brought him to Bristol. He 
remained at the Delaware House under the treatment of 
the doctor until the next day, when he returned home. 



138 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

The horses and carriage reached Bristol before they 
were overtaken, and upon examination it was found that 
no serious damage had been done. It was said that a few 
days after the return home of Bonaparte, the doctor re- 
ceived a letter containing a $100 bill. 

Major Lenox's neice. Miss Sarah Lukens Keene, who 
was one of his family, fell heir to his estate. She was a 
lady of personal beauty, as well as mental culture. Dur- 
ing the residence of her uncle in England, she frequently 
attended the receptions given to the foreign ministers by 
the king, who, on one occasion led her in the dance, after 
which he complimented her on her beauty and graceful- 
ness. During her stay in England she was known as the 
American beauty. Shortly after the major's return home, 
John Hare Powell made her acquaintance and courted 
her with a view to marriage. When he solicited her con- 
sent she referred him to her aunt. When he called 
upon the old lady she listened to his pleadings and 
replied : "Mr. Powell, you ask my consent to your mar- 
riage with my neice. My answer is Miss Sarah L. Keene 
is intended for the son of a duke or a lord and not for the 
son of a brewer. The gentleman picked up his hat and 
departed and the courtship ended. 

John Hare Powell married and became one of Phil- 
adelphia's honored and enterprising citizens. Miss Sarah 
died an old maid. She devised her beautiful mansion on 
the river bank, its furniture and several thousand dollars 
to the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the 
diocese of Philadelphia, in trust, for the maintenance of 
five, six or more aged gentlewomen, widows or single 
women of respectability and decayed fortunes, who had 
become destitute in old age. Since the death of Miss 
Keene down to the present year the property remained as 
it was at the time of her departure. Nothing apparently 
had been done to carry out the noble bequest of a benevo- 
lent hearted lady. Last year (1910) the heirs of Miss 
Keene endeavored to set aside the will, on account of 
the failure of the trustees to fulfill its provisions. A few 
months ago, to the great surprise of the Bristol people, 
who for years have looked upon the property as "the 
haunted house," the shutters of the building were thrown 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 1 39 

Open, carpenters and painters have plied their trades on 
the inside and outside, until today it resembles somewhat 
its former glory and grandeur. This action of the heirs 
has forced the trustees to at last carry out the wishes of 
the testatrix. 

The house is white plastered on the outside and con- 
tains large rooms and windows. All the fixtures, mantel 
pieces and staircases are of the colonial style. At the 
front and over the large door is a hood of colonial archi- 
tecture, on the front door is a knocker in the shape of an 
eagle and just to one side is an old fashioned door bell, 
all of which add to the beauty and quaintness of the 
house. A large lawn surrounds the house. In the rear 
the lawn slopes gently down to the river. Here an open- 
ing is seen overgrown with vines but upon closer examin- 
ation it appears to have been a passageway which led to a 
large cave under the ground. Many stories are told about 
this cave. It has been said that at one time, during the 
Revolutionary War, Washington and some of his men 
hid therein. Others say it once had an entrance to the 
house and was used as a secret passage to the river, but 
the most likely story is that at one time it was used 
simply as an ice house. Entering the house by the front 
door one first comes into a large reception hall where a 
staircase of pure mahogany leads to the upper floors. In 
this hall a large tablet is seen upon the wall, placed there 
by Sarah Lukens Keene, the owner, in memory of her 
aunt, Tracy Lenox. The tablet bears the following 
inscription : 

"Sarah Lukens Keene bequeathed and dedicated this house to 
which it is by her will directed from devoted affection, to the 
memory of her dearly beloved aunt, Tracy Lenox, who died in it 
on the twenty-fourth day of August, 1834, and it is consecrated 
to her memory to be a monument and perpetual memorial of the 
testratrix, love and reverence for her who was her parent in 
every deed, the tender, affectionate guardian and guide of her 
infancy, and the true and faithful friend of her mature years ; 
whose warm heart glowed with benevolence, sympathy and 
feeling for the unfortunate and destitute, and whose open hand 
was always ready to. extend relief, and her kindly voice to utter 
words of consolation to the bereaved and afflicted." 

ID 



140 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

From the reception hall one next enters the reception 
room, then the parlor and lastly the dining room, all of 
which are spacious and beautiful, with marble mantels 
and large windows. Out from the dining room is a bal- 
cony which commands a fine view of the river. Going up 
the winding stairs a balcony is seen with the railing of 
jnire mahogany. This leads to the hall on the second 
floor, where doors on each side lead into four bedrooms, 
all the woodwork being plain and painted white. The 
rooms on all the floors have white plastered walls. A 
still narrower stairway of the same design leads to the 
third floor, which has five rooms and two hallways. In 
the ceiling of one of the halls is a trap door leading to 
a loft where it is said the servants were made to sleep. 
Going back to the basement one sees two rooms and a 
hallway. Over the building many closets are seen which 
were made after the pattern of those used in colonial 
days. 

Lafayette's Visit, Monday, September 27, 1824. — 

Lafayette was met at Morrisville by Governor John An- 
drew Shultze, of Pennsylvania, who extended him a 
hearty welcome as he stepped upon Pennsylvania soil. 
Lafayette rode in a splendid barouche drawn by six dark 
cream colored horses, with two outriders on horses of 
the same color. The First City Troop of Philadelphia, 
under Captain John R. C. Smith, acted as the immediate 
escort of the general. Other troops from Philadelphia 
and Bucks Counties and a numerous cavalcade of citi- 
zens, attended him to P)ristol, where he arrived at i 
o'clock. Governor Shultze followed Lafayette in a 
barouche drawn by four black horses. The whole sur- 
rounding country poured its inhabitants into Bristol to 
witness the arrival of the "nation's guest." William F. 
Swift, Dr. John Phillips and David Dorrance had been 
appointed a committee to give him a grand reception. A 
triunij)hal arch was erected at the Hollow Bridge, with 
the inscription, "Welcome Friend." The citizens turned 
out and formed on both sides of the street, mothers with 
babes in their arms and old men leaning on their staffs. 
After the reception he was escorted to Mr. Bessonett's 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I4I 

private mansion, the house now occupied by Curtis How- 
ell, at the corner of Radcliffe and Mill Streets. The com- 
mittee had prepared a splendid lunch for the general and 
his suite ; speeches were made and good hearty hurrahs 
given. After the crowd had gone, Mrs. Bessonett was 
introduced and related the circumstances of her having 
nursed him during his former stay in Bristol, from the 
effects of his wound received at the battle of Brandywine. 
He recognized her and expressed great pleasure in meet- 
ing one who had been so kind and attentive to him during 
his sickness in Bristol. After a rest of two hours, the 
line of march was formed and the procession marched to 
the Philadelpiha county line at Harrowgate, under com- 
mand of Major General John Davis, who commanded the 
Bucks County Militia, and Joseph Hough, of Point Pleas- 
ant, Bucks County, lieutenant-colonel of the Thirty-third 
Regiment, and reached Frankford at quarter before 7 
o'clock Monday evening. 

The arch disappeared for a number of years, but when 
Andrew Shaffer took possession of the Badger farm, near 
Bristol, some years ago, the old arch and a life-size oil 
painting of General Lafayette were found stored away 
in one of the barns. The painting was destroyed several 
years ago by a party of tramps, who entered the barn and 
maliciously cut the canvas into ribbons. Upon the arch 
is the inscription : "Welcome Friend," which greeting 
was intended, when the paint which formed the words 
were new and fresh, for General Lafayette. Several times 
since the finding of the arch, it has been used upon im- 
portant occasions in Bristol. The arch is still well pre- 
served, and is now in the custody of Henry Clay Beatty 
Post, No. j^, G. A. R. 

A Tale of the Stage Coach Days. — Dr. Howard Pursell 
hands down the following story, having received it from 
the late William Kinsey. It relates to the old house. 213 
Cedar Street, next to Masonic Hall, now occupied by 
Samuel Scott : 

"Some time in the twenties of the last century, a gentle- 
man took the stage in New York, intending to travel to 
Philadelphia and thence to Washington. The stage ar- 
rived at Bristol about midnight and the journey was 



142 A HISTORY OF BRISTOI. BOROUGH, 

halted at the Delaware House. Here the horses were 
changed and the passengers given an opportunity to seek 
refreshments. 

"The gentleman left the conveyance to take a short 
walk in order to relieve himself of the stiffness occasioned 
by the long journey. It was a beautiful, crisp autumn 
night and the brilliant moon cast its gentle sheen upon all 
surrounding objects giving them a startling distinctness. 
The man walked up Radcliffe Street towards Market. 
When he reached Market he was startled at the sight of 
a young woman who appeared suddenly from the dark 
shadows thrown by the old town house. The moonlight 
shone full upon her as she reached Radcliffe Street, and 
the traveler could see that she was young and very fair. 
Her face was pale and her eyes were flashing with a 
strange fire. She was clad in a loose gown, which 
fluttered in the cool breeze. Suddenly she saw the 
stranger on the opposite side gazing at her curiously. 
She had walked out Market Street as if with the intention 
of crossing Radcliffe, but upon noticing the gentleman, 
she turned sharply and stepped with a quick nervous step 
up Radcliffe Street. The stranger thought the matter 
somewhat extraordinary, but finding his time too short, 
returned to the stage, which was about to resume its way 
towards Philadelphia. On his trip to Washington he 
mused over the matter, the recollection of which con- 
stantly reverted to his mind with that inexplicable per- 
sistency with which certain occurrences will annoyingly 
obtrude themselves in one's thoughts at inopportune 
moments. Several weeks later he returned to New York 
by the same route. The stage as was customary, stopped 
at the Delaware House to afford the passengers time to 
dine. The gentleman betook himself to mine host, who 
M^as John Bessonett and rallied him upon the improprie- 
ty of Bristol's young ladies, walking about unattended at 
midnight. Bessonett appearing confused, the man ex- 
plained the occurrence of a few weeks before. The land- 
lord then told the stranger the remainder of the story. 
The young lady lived in the house on Cedar Street, No, 
213, That night, at midnight, she had risen from her bed, 
doffed her street apparel and walked down Market Street 
to the point where the traveler had seen her. 



A 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I43 

"The following morning several articles of women's 
clothing were found on the wharf at Walnut Street. It 
was soon learned that the young woman was missing, 
and it was naturally presumed that she had done away 
with herself in the Delaware. Subsequently the proof of 
the supposition was demonstrated by the appearance of 
the body floating in the river." 

Rowland Stephenson. — Among the residents of Bristol, 
1825-1856, was a man quite distinguished because of the 
social position which his family occupied in England, 
and because of an unfortunate notoriety which he him- 
self gained by reason of some charges of embezzlement. 
This man's name was Rowland Stephenson, a man of 
high attainment and distinguished appearance. He was 
a son of an Englishman of rank, and at one time a banker 
in the City of London. 

His confidential clerk speculated in trust funds, and 
lost $150,000; upon which Stephenson made the mistake 
of leaving home. A writ of outlawry was taken out and 
the law officers followed Stephenson to America. These 
officers arrested him, without a warrant, and pressed him 
on an English vessel sailing from the port of New York 
for London. The ship becoming disabled at sea was 
finally taken to the port of New Orleans. Here Stephen- 
son was released, and returning to New York City met 
Captain John Myers, of Bristol, who had transacted busi- 
ness with him at London. 

Captain Myers invited Stephenson to his home at 
Bristol, and in 1825 he took up his permanent residence 
in Bristol, where he remained until his death in 1856. 
He was buried in the churchyard of St. James. 

His son, a captain in the British Army, in 1852 had the 
outlawry process revoked, but his father would not 
return. 

He was a member of the celebrated Beef-Steak Club of 
London, an interesting reference to him will be found in 
Volume No. i, Colburns' Clubs of London, 1828. 

His executors were Lucious H. Scott and Robert C. 
Beatty, who forwarded $20,000 to his son. Sir Rowland 
Stephenson. (Contributed by Captain Burnet Landreth.) 



144 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



EPOCH VI. 



BRISTOL A COALPORT TOWN. 



From 1827, the Construction of the Canal, to 1861, the 
Opening of the Civil War. 

History of the Canal. — In 1886, the late William Kin- 
sey, who was a local historian, furnished the Bucks 
County Gazette with the following history of the Dela- 
ware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal. The scenes 
and incidents described were of personal knowledge to 
Mr. Kinsey and are therefore authentic. 

In 1827, the legislature of Pennsylvania passed an act 
for the construction of a canal from Bristol to Easton. In 
October of the same year a large number of people, in 
pursuance of public notice assembled at Bristol to cele- 
brate the opening of one of the first canals constructed by 
the state. 

The day was beautiful and unusually warm for the time 
of year. At 11 o'clock some 500 men, under the command 
of William F. Swift, who had been appointed marshal by 
a meeting of the people for the occasion marched to the 
ground now owned by the Dorrance Brothers, near lock 
No. 3. At noon prayer was made by the rector of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, after which an address was 
deHvered by Peter E. Brown, a prominent member of 
the Philadelphia bar. George Harrison, of Hulmeville, 
and Peter Ihire, of Easton, appeared, one with a wheel- 
barrow and the other with a pick and shovel. Ihire com- 
menced to dig a trench and throw the dirt in the barrow. 
Harrison then wheeled it a short distance and dumped 
it in a heap. The marshal then made a speech congratu- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



145 



lating the citizens of the county on the opening of one of 
the grandest enterprises of the age. The band played 
"Hail Columbia," and the people gave three cheers that 
made the welkin ring. The procession re-formed and 
marched to the Delaware House, kept by Mr. Bessonett, 
where some 200 people dined and made speeches. 

There had been much contention on the part of the 
people living between Morrisville and Bristol as to the 
proper place for the terminus of the canal. Those living 
in the neighborhood of Tullytown advocated Scott's 
Creek, near that town, as the best place for its connection 
with the river. The citizens of Bristol contended for 




PURSELL s lock; delawakk division, pa., canal. 

Bristol borough. The canal commissioners held several 
meetings to hear the parties. The surveyors of the route 
favored Scott's Creek and it began to look as though that 
would be the place. The citizens of Bristol desired an- 
other hearing, saying that they wanted to present some 
facts to the board that had not been possible to get up 
to that time. The commissioners adjourned to meet at 
the Delaware House to make final decision. The citi- 
zens employed Counselor Swift to appear before the 



146 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

board in behalf of Bristol as the best point for the 
terminus of the canal. He emplo3^ed two men who fol- 
lowed the water to secretly make soundings of the river 
to ascertain the depth at both points. When the board 
met, the advocates for Tullytown were first heard in 
favor of Scott's Creek. Swift then addressed the board 
in behalf of Bristol. He produced the men who made the 
soundings of the river. They swore there was not suffi- 
cient depth of water at Scott's creek at any time of tide 
to float vessels carrying 200 tons, while at Bristol there 
was sufficient to float vessels carrying 500 tons. 

That settled the question. The commissioners de- 
clared in favor of Bristol. The advocates for Tullytown 
were dissatisfied. They charged the people of Bristol 
with acting unfairly in not informing them that they 
were going to make soundings of the river so that they 
might have been present to see that the depth of the 
water was properly taken. They claimed that it would 
have been a saving to the state of many thousands of 
dollars in making Tullytown the terminus. The expense 
in excavation of four miles of canal and the construction 
of three locks and six or eight bridges between Tullytown 
and Bristol might have been saved to the state. 

David Dorrance and Richard Morris, citizens of Bris- 
tol, contracted for the excavation of the canal, building 
of the locks, bridges and wharfing from Bristol to Yard- 
leyville. They completed their contract in the summer 
of 1830 and the canal was declared open from Bristol to 
New Hope. 

A boat prejiared for the occasion, containing a number 
of citizens, drawn by four horses, made an excursion to 
New Hope. There was great rejoicing on the occasion; 
a public dinner at the expense of the borough was given, 
speeches were made, the town house bell rung, and at 
night bonfires lit up the streets. 

The whole line of the canal from Bristol to Easton was 
completed in 1832 at a cost of $1,374,743. It is sixty miles 
long, forty feet wide and has a depth of water of five feet, 
twenty-four locks ninety feet long and eleven feet wide 
with lifts from six to eight feet. 

After the completion of the canal and commencement 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. I47 

of shipping of coal to the Eastern states, business began 
to increase. There was a demand for Bristol property 
having a river front and it sold for good prices. Wharves 
were built and depots were established from the basin to 
Walter Laing's place from which coal was shipped in 
large quantities by the Lehigh, Beaver Meadow and 
Hazleton Coal Companies, Downing & Wood, Downer 
and others, giving employment to several hundred men 
at good wages. 

As many as twenty vessels would be waiting to take on 
cargoes, some of them of heavy tonnage. The brig Eagle 
took on 450 tons at $2.50 per ton. Over 250,000 tons of 
coal were shipped in one season. The captains would 
take in their supplies before sailing from Bristol, making 
a lively trade for the dealers in their line. An average of 
250 horses a week would be fed and cared for, consuming 
large quantities of hay, oats and straw, making a good 
market for the farmers. Many men made money and got 
rich. 

But there came an end to this prosperous and desirable 
state of things, caused by two events : the shipping of coal 
by the Reading Railroad Company from Philadelphia and 
the construction of the outlet lock at New Hope. The 
Reading Company's shipping depot being twenty miles 
nearer the capes than Bristol had the advantage in time 
■and distance in sending coal to the eastern markets. The 
■coal companies sending their coal via the Lehigh and 
Delaware Division Canals, in order to compete with the 
Reading petitioned for an outlet lock at New Hope to 
enable them to send their coal via the Delaware and Rari- 
tan canal to Newark, Perth Amboy and New York, from 
which points coal could be shipped east at less rates 
than from Bristol. 

The loss of the coal trade was a sad blow to Bristol. 
Over 300 persons left to seek employment elsewhere. The 
town subsided into a state of extreme lethargy. The life 
was completely taken out of it. The old residents walked 
through the quiet streets and enjoyed the balmy air of 
summer, and sat around their firesides during the fierce 
blasts of the winter months and waited for something 
to turn up. They knew that from its favorable situation 



148 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

between the largest cities of the United States, New Yoric 
and Philadelphia, its unequalled facilities of transporta- 
tion, its natural advantages of various kinds, that the time 
would come when Bristol's arteries would again pulsate 
with the throb of business life. 

In 1858, by Act of April 21st, the State sold its public 
works to the Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company for 
$3,500,000. On July loth, the same year the Sunbury & 
Erie sold the Delaware Division Canal to the Delaware 
Canal Company of Pennsylvania for $1,800,000. The 
company issued bonds to the amount of $1,200,000 and 
stock for the same amount. In April, 1866, the Canal 
Company released the canal to the Lehigh Coal Company 
for ninety-nine years at a rental of 8 per cent. 

The Town Hall. — The town hall has a history. Samuel 
Scotton, who retired from business in Philadelphia and 
settled in Bristol, built and occupied the house now 
owned by Ered Leibfried, the last one on the south side 
of Otter Street. Friend Scotton was a genial old gentle- 
man, prominent in good works. In his will he left to the 
burgess and council of Bristol the sum of $200, for the 
purpose of assisting in purchasing a town clock, pro- 
vided the council bviilt a town hall within five years after 
the death of his wife. She lived some fifteen years after 
his death and the matter had been forgotten by Council, 
as no record had been kept of the time pf her death. The 
Burgess, who was his executor, in looking over some 
borough papers in his possession, found a copy of the 
will. On examination he discovered that to secure the 
$200 the hall must be inclosed within five years after the 
death of the widow. Inquiry was made as to the time of 
her death and it was found she had been dead four years 
and ten months. The council was called together and the 
facts laid before them. The burgess stated that the hall 
must be enclosed on or before the 31st of December, 1831, 
to secure the gift. Council passed a resolution to com- 
mence at once to build. Then there arose the question 
where it should be located, A good deal of feeling was 
manifested on the subject. Some wanted it on the bor- 
ough lot, corner of Wood and IMulberry Streets, others 



i 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



149 



contended that it should be built on the market house 
lot, corner Market and Wood Streets, as that was the 
most central part of the borough, another party wanted it 
located on Radcliffe Street so that persons passing up 
and down the river in the steam boats could see that 
Bristol had a town hall and clock. Council referred the 
matter of location to a committee, which reported in 




TOWN HALL. 



favor of its present site. Market Street not being wide 
enough to have a roadway on each side of the hall, a 
strip of ground was purchased from Thomas G. Kennedy, 
thirteen feet wide, for $300. 

The building was commenced about the middle of 
November, and on the 31st day of December, 1831, it was 



150 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

roofed in just in time to secure the $200. The building of 
the hall cost $2,700. The clock which was made by- 
Isaiah Lukens, of Philadelphia, cost $500. The bell cost 
$156; the lot, $300; incidental expenses, $125. Three 
thousand seven hundred and eighty-one dollars was ex- 
pended to secure a gift of $200. 

The First Railroad. — The railroad came to Bristol in 
1834. The track was made of flat iron bars laid on North 
Carolina stringers. The first train of cars run on the 
road was from Trenton to Bristol, drawn by horses. It 
ran down Market Street to the wharf, and passengers for 
Philadelphia were transferred to a steamboat and car- 
ried down the river to their destination. 

The first locomotive was run on this road in 1834. One 
of our respected townsmen, C. Wesley Milnor, who is 
now over 70 years of age, says he can clearly remember 
the trains going and coming down Market Street when he 
w^as a small boy, in 1850. The boat would come to Bris- 
tol from Bordentown and wait at the wharf to carry the 
passengers to Philadelphia. Mr. Milnor sold the Phila- 
delphia newspapers to passengers from Bordentown and 
Trenton, and some mornings, would sell from thirty to 
fifty papers, while the passengers were being transferred. 
Although not absolutely certain, yet he thought there 
w^ere three trains daily, one from Trenton and two from 
New York. After a time the line was extended to 
Tacony, then again to Kensington and finally to Broad 
Street.' 

The old depot at the foot of Market Street was used 
during the Civil War as a store house for hay and straw, 
wherein hundreds of tons were baled and shipped to the 
front for the army. The building was later on 
demolished. 

The names of the boats which performed daily trips 
between Philadelphia and Bordentown in those halcyon 
days were the Trenton, Philadelphia, John Stevens, 
Richard Stockton and the cumbersome Burlington. The 
John Stevens was destroyed by fire which broke out at 
midnight while she was lying at her wharf at White Hall ; 
the Trenton was converted into a tow boat ; the Stockton 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I5I 

was sent to South Amboy, where for years it ran to and 
from New York daily, while the long, awkward looking 
Burlington was transferred to Philadelphia, where she 
was used in conveying cars loaded with freight across 
the Delaware. Among the captains were : Captain Kes- 
ter, Captain Thompson and Captain Stackhouse, the 
latter for many years commanded the Edwin Forrest 
which was the only passenger boat which ran as far up 
the river as Bordentown. Peter Bloomsburg and Robert 
Allen, Sr., were two of the old engineers. 

The First Public School Board and the First Pub- 
lic School House Erected. — The first board of school 
directors elected under the law of 1834, was in 
March, 1835. The gentlemen who composed that board 
were : Joseph Warner, James Johnson, William S. Per- 
kins, William F. Swift, James Harrison and Gilbert Tom- 
linson. The board made arrangements to carry out the 
objects of the law by levying a tax of $450 and renting 
rooms for the accommodation of the children. They em- 
ployed as teachers the Rev. Mr. Canfield, then a student 
for the ministry, and Mrs. Deborah Johnson. The schools 
increased in numbers and it was found necessary, in 
order to accommodate all the children who desired admis- 
sion, to erect a building for school purposes. This gave 
rise to much discussion and some opposition to the law, 
the opponents contending that the cost of building a new 
house would be oppressive to the large property holders, 
as it would increase their taxes and afiford them no bene- 
fit, for their children were educated at their own expense 
and it was not just to tax them to educate other men's 
children. The friends of the school system, after holding 
a meeting on the subject, determined to make the build- 
ing of a new school house, an issue before the people at 
the next election. In March, 1837, three new members 
of the board in favor of building a new school house were 
elected. They were Jonathan Adams, David Wooding- 
ton and William Kinsey. 

The first minutes of the Bristol Public School Board 
are dated March 27, 1837. The meeting was held at the 
home of Jonathan Adams and there were present, Gilbert 



152 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



Tomlinsoii, David E. Wooclington, James Johnson, James 
Harrison, Jonathan Adams. William Kinsey. The board 
formally organized by electing Gilbert Tomlinson presi- 
dent, William Kinsey secretary and James Johnson 
treasurer. The board adjourned to meet at the same 
place on April 6, at 8 P. M., to take into consideration the 
propriety of levying a tax sufficient to build a new school 




l-IKST I'UBLIC SCHOOL, WOOD STRKKT. 



house. At the next meeting it was decided that it would 
require the sum of $3,000 to build a school house large 
enough to accommodate the children in the borough. The 
secretary was instructed to advertise that the question 
of levying a building tax of $3,000 above the regular tax, 
would be voted on by the citizens on the first Tuesday in 
May, at the town hall, between the hours of 2 and 6 
o'clock P. M., for the i)urpose of building a school house. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 1 53 

The count of the ballots showed eighty-one votes in favor 
of an additional tax of $3,000 for the purpose cited, and 
twenty-one votes against the proposition. The secretary 
was accordingly authorized to levy the building tax. A 
committee composed of William Kinsey, James Johnson 
and David E. Woodington, was appointed to wait on the 
burgess and council of Bristol and request that a part of 
the town lot at the corner of Wood and Mulberry Streets, 
be given to the directors for the purpose of building a 
school house thereon, and also to procure a plan of the 
size and style of the new building. The burgess and 
council agreed to lease unto the board of directors and 
their successors in office, a part of the borough lot front- 
ing on Wood Street, commencing at the corner of the 
Methodist graveyard and extending fifty-nine feet 
towards Mulberry Street, and no feet deep, for a period 
of ninety-nine years, by paying a yearly rent of $1. The 
committee recommended that the school house be built of 
brick, three stories high, thirty-five feet front and fifty 
feet deep, which plan was adopted and the secretary was 
instructed to ask for bids for the construction of the 
building. Twenty-five sealed proposals were received 
and the contracts awarded as follows : 

John Bessonett to furnish the stone. 

William S. Emley to furnish the bricks. 

Dorrance & Warner to furnish the lumber. 

\\'illiam Lazilere to build the stone walls and plaster 
the house. 

Jackson Gilkeson to lay the bricks. 

Gilbert Tomlinson to do the carpenter work. 

William Kellingsworth to do the painting and glazing. 

Lewis P. Kinsey & Son to do the smithing. 

William Kinsey, James Johnson and David E. Wood- 
ington were appointed a building committee to have gen- 
eral supervision of the work. 

The borough council informed the board that it had 
enacted an ordinance providing for a loan of $5,000, 
on the credit of the corporation, out of which they would 
agree to appropriate the sum of v$3,ooo, for the purpose of 
building a new school house, providing the board of 
school directors would receive it in lieu of the additional 



154 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

tax voted for on the first Tuesday in May. The board 
agreed to accept the appropriation on the terms specified 
and instructed the secretary not to levy the tax. The 
school building was completed and the first session held 
on the second Monday in December, 1837, at which time 
there v\^as an enrollment of ninety-five boys and ninety 
girls. In the following two weeks the number was in- 
creased to 126 males and 120 females. Classes were 
started in English grammar, geography, history, arith- 
metic, expositor, writing, spelling, reading and weighing. 
The school books were purchased by the board and sold 
to the scholars. James Anderson was employed as 
teacher of the male department at a salary of $65 a 
month, and Annie N. Smith was placed in charge of the 
female department, her salary being fixed at $30 per 
month. The total cost of the school house was $4,936.88. 
At the request of the school board the borough council 
made an extra appropriation of $1,938.88, which covered 
the additional cost of the building above the amount 
previously appropriated. The primary school was not 
opened until November 4, 1839, when Miss Nancy Cum- 
mings was placed in charge. The names of the teachers 
who taught in this building down to 1853, when the in- 
creasing population made necessary the erection of the 
Otter Street public school building, are as follows : 

Male Department. — James Anderson remained until 
March i, 1840, when schools were closed for want of 
funds. 

The schools reopened in May with N. F. De Brown as 
teacher. 

July 30, 1841, J. V. Buckman was selected and was 
still in office when the new building was erected. 

In August, 1851, Miss S. J. Thompson was selected as 
an assistant to Mr. Brown. 

In February, 1852, Miss Elizabeth Burrows was elected 
to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Miss 
Thompson. 

In April, 1853, Miss Burrows was promoted to the 
position of principal of the Female Department, and Miss 
Sarah T. Brown elected to the vacancy. 



i 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 1 55 

Female Department — Miss Annie N. Smith remained 
until Xo\-ember, 1838, ^Yhen she resigned and Miss 
Fidelia Smith was elected. 

Miss Fidelia remained until the school closed in March, 
1839, for want of funds. 

On the reopening of the school, in May, 1839, it was 
placed in charge of Miss Harriet Schneider. She re- 
signed in July, 1840, and Miss Alice Frame was elected 
as her successor. 

Miss Alice resigned in April, 1841, and Miss Mahitable 
P. Moody succeeded her for a short time, when she Avas 
succeeded by Miss Sarah Pearson, who was employed in 
January, 1843. 

Miss Pearson resigned in October, 1845, ^"<^^ Miss Hul- 
dah Hoag was elected to the vacancy. 

In May, 1848, Miss Sarah Warner was elected to the 
vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Miss Hoag. 

Miss Warner resigned in 185 1, and Miss M. L. Ernest 
became the principal, and Miss Matilda Goodwin her 
assistant. 

]Miss Goodwin resigned in 1852, and Miss Anna V. 
Thompson succeeded her. 

In April, 1853, the principal (Miss Lawrence) resigned 
her position and Miss E. Burrows succeeded her. Miss 
Thompson resigned immediately afterward and Miss 
Anna Davis was elected to the vacancy. 

Primary Department. — Miss Nancy Cummings re- 
mained until March, 1840, when the school was closed for 
want of funds. It reopened in May, under the control of 
Miss Adeline Cummings. 

Miss Adeline resigned in October, 1840, and Miss 
Melissa Young was employed. 

Miss Young resigned in September, 1841, and Mrs. 
Sarah Swift was elected to the vacancy. 

In August, 1842, Miss S. Townsend was employed to 
assist her. In May, 1843, Mrs. Swift and Miss Hastings 
were jointly employed. In December Miss Hastings was 
made principal of the school. 

In December. 1844, Miss Hastings resigned and was 
succeeded by Miss Roxanna Leonard, who resigned in 
II 



156 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

October, 1845, when Mrs. Swift was made principal and 
her daughter Matilda the assistant. 

. In August, 1875, a frame addition, 18^/2 feet by 24 feet, 
was built to this school house. The contract was award- 
ed to Edmund Lawrence for $325. An intermediate 
school was opened in the new addition in September, 
1875, with Emily H. Stackhouse as teacher. This addi- 
tion was removed after the erection of the high school 
building in 1894. Since the completion of the new Jefifer- 
son Avenue building in 1908, this old building has been 
unoccupied. With the expansion of the commercial de- 
partment, it is probable that some day the upper story 
will be used for a Commercial High School. 

Colored Children's Right to Attend the Public Schools 
Questioned by Townspeople. — In November, 1837, the 
townspeople were greatly excited over the action of the 
public school board, in granting permission to four col- 
ored boys who were boarding with Joseph Warner, to 
attend the public schools by the payment of $3 per month 
for each boy as tuition expenses. A public meeting of the 
citizens was held and resolutions adopted, which pro- 
tested strongly against the admission of the colored boys. 
At the following meeting, the action of the town meeting 
was laid before the board, at which time a petition con- 
taining the signatures of fifty-four citizens, and request- 
ing that the four colored boys be allowed to remain in 
the schools, was also read. The board laid the matter on 
the table and directed the secretary to lay the case before 
the superintendent and request his opinion. At the meet- 
ing on March 20, 1838, the superintendent gave his 
opinion in favor of the boys having the right to be admit- 
ted to the common schools, and the board sustained him 
in his decision. 

At the meeting of August 27, 1842, it was reported to 
the board, that much opposition was made by the citi- 
zens of the town, to the right of two colored boys, board- 
ing with Joseph Warner, to the benefits of the common 
school law. The board took the matter under considera- 
tion and after examining the school law they promptly 
decided that the colored bovs were not entitled to the 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



157 



benefits of the common schools of the borough, they hav- 
ing been sent into the district for a special purpose, 
money having been willed to them by their father, for 
the purpose of acquiring an education and learning a 
trade. The secretary was instructed to inform Joseph 
Warner, that the two colored boys boarding with him, 
could not be continued in the schools any longer as free 
scholars. Thus it will be seen that one of the earliest 
questions with which the public school board was obliged 
to wrestle was incited by prejudice against the colored 
race. 

St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church. — In 1840 the 
Catholic population of Bristol was so small that its spirit- 
ual wants were attended to by a clergyman from Trenton, 




THE ORIGIN.\L ST. MARK S R. C. CHURCH AND RECTORY. 



Father Mackin, who visited Bristol twice a month for 
that purpose, services being held at the house of Mr. 
Brady, in Adam's Hollow, just beyond the creek which 
bounds the borough on the northeast. 

The Catholics so rapidly increased that in 1845 i^ be- 
came necessary to have a resident pastor in Bristol, and 



158 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

with the approbation of the church authorities it was de- 
cided to build a church and pastoral residence. Accord- 
ingly, a lot was purchased on Radcliffe Street, near the 
creek above mentioned, the site being convenient to the 
Hollow, where the larger number of the Catholics re- 
sided. Work on the church was commenced some time in 
1845. It was completed and dedicated in the following 
year, an unpretentious square building of stone and with 
sacristy attached. 

About the same time the house for the pastor was built, 
Bristol became a regular parish, and the Rev. Father 
Flanagan was appointed its first pastor. In the course of 
four or five years an addition had to be built to accom- 
modate the rapidly increasing congregation. In 1868, 
Father Flanagan, thinking it would benefit his health, 
which was poor, took a trip to Ireland, where he died 
soon after his arrival. He was succeeded in the following 
order by the Rev. Fathers Quinn, Keen, Russell, Nugent, 
Kelly, Brennan, McSwiggin. 

Up to this time no incident occurred in the affairs of the 
church. Everything went along smoothly until the night 
of November 9, 1867, when the church was totally 
destroyed by fire, Father Cullin (who succeeded McSwig- 
gin), being pastor at the time. Father Cullin was suc- 
ceeded by the Rev. Father Prendergast, who is now co- 
adjutor Bishop of Philadelphia. He wasted no time but 
immediately went to work with such vigor and zeal that 
the interior of the present handsome church was com- 
pleted within a year. 

The corner stone was laid in 1868 and the new church 
was dedicated in the following year. In the interim from 
the time the old church was burned, the Catholics having 
no place of worship, was tendered the use of Washington 
Hall, corner Radclift'e and Walnut Streets, where they 
worshipped until the new church was ready. In 1871 
Father Prendergast went from Bristol to Allentovvn and 
the Rev. Father Lynch took charge of the parish. 

There was much work yet to be done in the interior of 
the church, pews and other fixtures ; besides the old resi- 
dence was in a very delapidated condition totally unfit 
for use. So Father Lynch had the old house taken down 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



159 



and ill its place built a handsome brick dwelling. These 
additions and improvements created a considerable debt. 
Father Lynch died in Bristol on the 28th of April, 1879, 
and was succeeded by the Rev. Father Ward. 

During Father Ward's pastorate the church was great- 
ly improved, the sidewalls were extended to a line even 
with the tower, finished at the ends with circular wings, 
which greatly improved the appearance of the church in 
front ; also was built a new sacristy, the interior was 
painted and frescoed, and a new organ put in position. 

Unfortunately it was again visited by fire, though very 
little damage was done the building but all the decora- 




ST. MAUK S K. C. CHURCH AND RECTORY. 



tions, the altar and organ were ruined, all of which had 
to be replaced. Notwithstanding these losses and diffi- 
culties, Father Ward, with commendable courage and 
energy, not only repaired the damage done by the fire, 
but concluded to build a parochial school for the children 
of the parish. For this purpose he purchased a lot about 
midway on Radclifl^e Street. A handsome building was 
erected and is now under the care of the Sisters of the 



l60 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Immaculate Heart, who impart religious and secular in- 
struction to over 200 children. 

Father Vandegrift took charge of the parish in the lall 
of 1889. His pastorate may well be considered the 
brightest and most successful period in the history of the 
church. He found the parish almost hopelessly involved 
in debt and a congregation comparatively poor. The 
prospect was anything but cheering. 

Being endowed with splendid abilities which he entire- 
ly devoted to his work, he soon had everything in order 
and the prospect became brighter and brighter as time 
went. He beautified the interior of the church, had it 
newly frescoed, put in a very costly altar rail, and a set 
of imported Stations of the Cross. He also purchased 
a lot in a very convenient location for a cemetery at a 
cost of $3,000, in all of which he was ably seconded by 
his assistant, the Rev. Father Meagher. 

In June, 1895, much to the regret of his parishioners, 
he went to Philadelphia to take charge of St. Edward's, 
taking with him the respect and esteem of the entire com- 
munity, and had the satisfaction of surrendering free of 
all encumbrances, the parish with all its improvements 
to his successor, the Rev. Hugh Garvey, who upon the 
latter's death was succeeded by the late lamented Rev. M. 
A. Bunce, during whose regime the parochial school, at 
considerable expense was enlarged and many improve- 
ments made. 

The present pastor, the Rev. M. A. Bradley, succeeded 
Father Bunce. Father Bradley has been with us but a 
short time but has already won the hearts of his people. 
(Bucks County Gazette.) 

Note. — Although Father Bradley has Iieen in Bristol less than 
two years, yet he has displayed unusual energy. Through his 
efforts new pews have been installed in the church, the electric 
light system has been renewed, and the main and side altars, 
as well as the "Stations of the Cross," and all other statues 
have been repainted. A new concrete pavement has been laid 
in front and in the yard of the Parochial School, and a new 
iron fence erected across the front of the two side yards. 
Father Bradley's geniality and affability have made him popular 
outside of his church circle. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH, l6l 

Presbyterian Church. — In 1843 the Presbyterians in 
Bristol were exceedingly few, and in the surrounding 
country there was only here and there an individual by 
birth or education attached to the Presbyterian com- 
munion. Under these circumstances the beginning of the 
church was made. The Rev. James M. Harlow was then 
residing at Newportville, and was pastor of the historic 
congregation of Bensalem, and stated supply at Centre- 
ville, now Emilie. To this gentleman this church owes 
its inception and to his self-denying labors it is that the 
enterprise did not perish at its birth. Mr. Harlow began 
to preach in Bristol in the Lyceum building, where the 
postoffice now stands, on the evening of July 2, 1843. 
After four services, on as many Sabbaths, a Sabbath 
School was organized, with fourteen scholars and four 
teachers. It grew apace, and at the end of four years was 
second in number and efficiency to no school in Bristol, 
The Sabbath School and preaching were continued in the 
Lyceum building until the basement of the church was 
finished. The lot on which the church stands was bought 
at sheriff's sale on December 21, 1843, ^^^ $1^250, for all 
of which, excepting $50, a mortgage was given to the late 
John Paul, Sr. The frame building on the rear of the lot 
was occupied by Mr. Harlow and his family in the spring 
of 1844. Now began the serious time. In recalling this 
time Mr. Harlow wrote : "Things looked dark except to 
the eye of faith, and continued so for most of the four 
years following. I was almost penniless myself, and with 
little personal influence, while all around me regarded the 
whole scheme as Utopian, not possible of success, not one 
on which to risk either reputation or money," Neverthe- 
less, he persevered, and God encouraged him by raising 
up for him friends who were able and willing to aid him 
in accomplishing his heart's desire. The subscriptions he 
obtained represented many places and many names, 
among which Burlington and the late Rev. Dr. Court- 
landt Van Rensselaer are very prominent. Without the 
sympathy and liberal gifts of this princely man it does not 
seem that the building could have been erected. He gave 
his money, again and again ; he loaned his money, and 
when the debt fell due he forgave the debt. He came 



l62 A HISTORY OF r.RISTOI, HOROUGH. 

often to preach, sometimes crossing the river on the ice, 
and was always ready to do what he could to cheer and 
encourage the heart of his brave friend and brother, ]\Ir. 
Harlow. Many other substantial contributions were re- 
ceived from out of town friends and the subscription list 
shows how much he commended himself by his self- 
sacrificing spirit in the community, for there is hardly a 
name of man or woman who had a dollar to spare, which 
does not appear upon the list. Friends, Episcopalians 
and Methodists, all alike, seemed to want a share in the 
work this good man was doing. But mere gathering of 
money was but a part of the service which !^Ir. Harlow 
rendered. What besides he did is best given in his own 
words : "In the spring of 1846 I dug out the foundations 
and filled the trenches with boulders obtained from ves- 
sels which came from the East for coal. The boulders 
came in ballast to Bristol, and as they were not allowed 
to throw them overboard,! engaged to take them from the 
wharf, and did so, filling in the ditches as I hauled them 
up with my own horse. Next was fifty tons of quarried 
stone from Yardleyville by canal, to complete the stone 
wall to the water table, then followed 10.800 bricks from 
Bordentown, N. J., which were laid in the wall at $2 per 
thousand; next the heavy lumber from Burlington, rafted 
over to Bristol by favorable flood tides, and so on for the 
rest of the materials until all was on the ground and put 
into the building in the required order until the structure 
was completed." He adds quaintly : "It would be decid- 
edly personal to tell you who did all this with the aid of 
one little horse ; out of that horse I got practical sym- 
pathy." The property having been purchased b}' Mr. 
Harlow in his owai name, was held by him until January, 
1846, wdien it was conveyed by him to trustees. \Mio 
these trustees were is not now known. (The Board of 
Trustees were not a corporate body until February, 
1851.) On May 15, 1847, the trustees, whoever they were, 
conveyed back to Mr. Harlow the dwelling and all the 
lot excepting that on which the church building stands, 
and six feet each side of it. Mr. Harlow continued to 
supply the pulpit statedly (he was never pastor of the 
church), until the autumn of 1850, wdien he removed to 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 163 

East Aurora, Erie County, N. Y. About a year after his 
removal he conveyed to the trustees the dwelling in the 
rear of the church building, with the remainder of the lot, 
receiving therefor the consideration of $400. Thus the 
church became possessed of the property. Although not 
definitely known, the church was probably organized by 
Mr. Harlow himself, with the assistance of his Burling- 
ton friends, the Rev. Drs. Van Rensselaer and Chester. 
It was, however, recognized and received under the care 
of the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia (O. S.), in 
session in Germantown, on April 22, 1846. Fourteen per- 
sons composed the original membership, of whom the 
last survivor was Mrs. Charles W. Pierce, then Miss 
Mary Vanuxem. 

From the time of the organization till the departure of 
Mr. Harlow, thirty-two persons were received into the 
communion of the church ; by certificate from other 
churches, twenty-three, and nine by profession of their 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Very little was con- 
tributed for benevolent causes. The people were few, 
and far from rich in this world's goods, and all they could 
do was necessarily devoted very largely to the mainten- 
ance of their own church. In 185 1, the year of Mr. Har- 
low's departure, the church and congregation consisted of 
twenty-eight members and twenty-three families. It is 
evident that Mr. Harlow was a very Paul, coveting no 
man's silver or gold or apparel, his own hands minister- 
ing to his necessities. He engaged in teaching, and from 
this source derived his support. The encomium passed 
on him by Dr. Charles Hodge was well deserved : 'T 
know no man in all our church who has evinced greater 
energy, perseverance and self-denial in the prosecution 
of his work. He has labored almost for nothing, doing 
the work not only of a minister, but of a day laborer, de- 
voting without stint time, strength and money to the 
cause." Mr. Harlow left Bristol in 185 1 and was after- 
wards stated supply at Aurora, Moscow, Bath, Tuscarora, 
Union Corners and Phelps, N. Y., and pastor at Shorts- 
ville, 1870-72, when he was honorably retired. He died 
in Shortsville, Ontario County, N. Y., December 13, 1894, 
in the eighty-seventh year of his age. The Presbytery of 



164 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Geneva, in session in Geneva, April 16, 1895, took action 
as to his character and worth, in which it said : "As a 
preacher Mr, Harlow was talented, sympathetic, logical, 
persuasive. He was a tireless worker, a thorough 
student, a faithful, public spirited citizen. In the church 
and prayer meeting his presence was a delight." So 
passed into the better land the founder and father of this 
church. His name is precious. His works do follow him. 
He builded better than he knew. 

After his retirement, the church was vacant till May, 
185 1, when the Rev. Franklin D. Harris was installed as 
its first pastor. Mr. Harris was graduated from the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania in 1837, and from the Theological 
Seminary at Andover, Mass., in 1840. After missionary 
service in Central Pennsylvania he came to Bristol. He 
remained ten years and seven months, with a large 
measure of success. His continuance in this pulpit for 
so long a time was a great blessing to his people and to 
the commvmity as well. During his pastorate, ninety-two 
additions were made to the membership of the church, 
thirty-eight by certificate and fifty-four by examination. 
Nearly $9,000 were given, so that at the time of his re- 
tirement he left the congregation in its spiritual and 
temporal condition very greatly strengthened. On De- 
cember 10, 1861, his relations with the Bristol church 
were dissolved by Presbytery, he having accepted a call 
to the church at Port Byron, N. Y. He died in Philadel- 
phia on February 23, 1892, at the age of 82 years. 

Mr. Plarris was succeeded in the pastorate by the Rev. 
Alfred Taylor, who was installed July 31, 1862. His pas- 
torate lasted till March 9, 1865. His specialty was Sab- 
bath School work. He died in Bridgeport, Conn., March 
31, 1889, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. The pastor- 
ate of Mr. Taylor was conspicuous as the time during 
which the congregation made generous provision for the 
comfort of their minister by the purchase of an excellent 
manse. 

At a meeting of Presbytery at Newtown, October 3, 
1865, a call for his pastoral services was presented to the 
Rev. Henry F. Lee. This call Mr. Lee accepted, and he 
was installed pastor on November 7, 1865. He was 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 165 

pastor less than two years, and the additions to the 
church roll were by certificate, thirty, and by examination 
thirty-six. His stay was short but full of blessing to the 
church. 

The Rev. Jacob Weidman succeeded Mr. Lee, 
having been installed pastor in November, 1867. 
This relation continued until June i, 1873, ^ period of five 
and one-half years. During his pastorate the church edi- 
fice was enlarged. The amount expended by the trus- 
tees was $3,215.79. In 1869, Mr. Peter E. Hope was re- 
ceived into the membership of the church and in June, 
1870, was ordained and installed elder of the church, be- 
ing the first since 1868. Business interest caused his 
removal from the town. He was a most acceptable man 
in office, intelligent, useful and efficient in the discharge 
of -his duties. The church sustained a heavy loss in his 
removal. 

On October 30, 1873, the Rev. James H. Mason Knox, 
D. D., LL. D., was installed pastor. His ministry con- 
tinued a little more than ten years. They were happy 
years, in which the pastor and his people dwelt together 
in delightful unison. Just before the close of his ministry 
the interior of the church building was improved by 
painting and frescoing, and the gallery was lowered to 
admit of placing in proper position the organ, which had 
been purchased and which has since guided and helped 
the service of song in the congregation. In December, 
1883, the relation which had so happily subsisted for 
more than ten years was dissolved by Presbytery, and the 
pastor was for nearly seven years thereafter president of 
Lafayette College, when after forty-five years of service, 
he retired from official duties. 

The call of the church to the Rev. Edward P. Shields, 
then of Cape May, N. J., was placed in his hands by Pres- 
bytery in April, 1884, and accepted by him. He came to 
Bristol in the fullness of his strength, physical and intel- 
lectual, and here he remained until 1898. No man in the 
Presbytery was held in higher esteem by his brethren. 
During his pastorate, the membership of the church and 
Sabbath School were both greatly increased. 

Dr. Shields was succeeded in 1898 by the Rev. Alexan- 



1 66 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

der Allison, D. D. Dr. Allison was an eloquent speaker 
with a pleasing and affable personality. He was par- 
ticularly aggressive in the temperance cause. During the 
second year of his pastorate, the handsome chapel in 
which the congregation now worships, was erected. He 
severed his relations with the church in 1903, and was 
succeeded by the Rev. Charles E. Burns, D. D., who is 
the present incumbent. Under the pastorate of Dr. 
Burns, the church is vigorous and has maintained a 
healthv growth. ( From a history of the church written by 
Dr. J.'H. Mason Knox). 

Bethel A. M. E. Church.— Bethel A. M. E. Church was 
organized in the early forties of the last century. As 
early as 1843 this congregation was worshipping in an 
old building which stood at the foot of Wood Street, 
along the canal basin. Meetings were later held in a 
dwelling occupied by Lucy Harris, on Wood Street, be- 
tween Mill Street and the canal basin. Prior to the 
institution of this church, the few colored people in 
Bristol worshipped with their white neighbors in the 
established churches, and even after the African branch 
of the Methodist Church was organized, several of the 
colored people refused to sever their relations with the 
white congregation, and remained regular in their at- 
tendance until their deaths. Among the earliest mem- 
bers of the African, Church in Bristol were Henry Wil- 
liams and wife, Deborah ; Henry Blake and wife, 
Amanda; Patience Currier, Theodorea Freeman and wife. 
Eliza; Mary Schenk, James Jordon, Ellen Julius. Peter 
Julius, Rebecca Price, Uriah Jones, Elizabeth Cummings. 
Anna Smith, Martha Freeman. Ellen Montgomery. 

After a number of years the congregation had in- 
creased to such an extent that a commodious place in 
which to worship became a necessity. The little frame 
church on Pond Street, above Walnut, now Ardrey's 
machine shop, was accordingly purchased and occupied. 
Brighter days followed and although the little flock has 
since bore its share of burdens and passed through many 
trying conflicts, yet the days spent in the old church on 
Pond Street will always be treasured in the memory as 



i 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 167 

among- the happiest in the church's history. Later the 
old church building was sold and the present edifice on 
Wood Street purchased. 

Several of the members of this church have occupied 
prominent positions in the church connection. Miss 
Rachel Smith became the wife of Bishop T. M. D. Ward. 
Aliss Martha De Witt became the wife of Bishop H. M. 
Turner. The Rev. Jas. H. Morgan went into the min- 
istry from the Bristol Church, and for twenty years was 
secretary of the New Jersey African Methodist Confer- 
ence He also wrote and published a history of the 
conference. 

Silk Worm Industry. — In 1844 there was in existence 
in Bristol, an industry for the propogation of the silk 
worm and production of the silk worm cocoon. The 
building occupied was situated along the river in the 
rear of the Wildman residence, at the intersection of 
Radcliffe and Washington Streets, and three stories in 
height. Mulberry leaves were fed to the silk worms and 
in order to supply this food, a grove of mulberry trees 
was planted, which extended from a point where the 
Colonial Theatre now stands, west, as far as Pond Street, 
and north almost to Jefiferson Aevnue. William Booz, of 
Cedar Street, to whom the author is indebted for this 
article, was employed in this industry when a boy. His 
duties were to gather the mulberry leaves from the trees 
in the grove and feed them to the silk worms. The in- 
dustry was the result of a craze which swept over the 
country at that time, when everybody expected to get 
rich raising silk worms. In a few years, when the craze 
subsided, the business was suspended, but the old build- 
ing stood for several years, when it was removed. 

History of the First Baptist Church. — In 1838, the Bap- 
tist Association of Philadelphia, which owned a lot on 
Otter Street, where Mohican Hall now stands, author- 
ized a committee to transfer the same to a church which 
might be formed in Bristol, which held the doctrines of 
their confession of faith. In 1840, the president of the 
board, the Rev. Jones, was authorized to transfer the lot 
to the Baptist brethren and followers of the cause at 



1 68 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



Bristol, for their sole use, benefit and disposal. Six years 
passed, during which it appears that all efforts to estab- 
lish a church were unavailing. In 1846 the records show 
that a Brother Dooge had an interview with a Brother 
Corson, of near Bristol, who had informed him there 




IIKST UAI'TIST CilURCH. 

were several members of the Baptist faith in Bristol and 
expressed a wish to build a meeting house, and requested 
the association to grant them a title to the lot, then 
known as the Baptist lot. Two years afterward, on the 
29th day of September, 1848, the council of ministers in 
regular session at Philadelphia, officially recognized and 
regularly constituted the First Baptist Church of Bristol. 
In 1849, the Rev. Jones reported that the church at Bris- 
tol was not incorporated, and it was resolved that as soon 
as the church obtained a charter from the court, that the 
president of the board be empowered to convey the title 
to its trustees. Wm. Bache, in his history of Bristol, 
published in 1853, claims that the fifteen original mem- 
bers of the Bristol Church, were members in good stand- 
ing from sister churches. 

On the 3rd of May, 1850, a charter of incorporation 
was granted to the First Baptist Church of Bristol Bor- 
ough. The same year, the Rev. Christian J. Page, who 



i 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 169 

had been called by the Bristol Church as its first pastor, 
on the second of February preceding, arose in the annual 
meeting of the Philadelphia Baptist Association, and 
announced the fact, that a charter had been obtained. It 
was accordingly resolved that the president and secre- 
tary convey the lot to the Bristol Church. At this time, 
the borough had a population of 2,570, of which 1,287 
were males and 1,283 females. There Avere about 450 
dwellings in the town, besides a number of shops of 
various kinds. At the next yearly meeting in 185 1, the 
officers of the board reported that the lot on Otter Street 
had been transferred to the Baptist Church at Bristol and 
that the $50, which had been received from the Trenton 
Railroad Company for damages for crossing the lot, had 
been turned over to the Bristol trustees. The member- 
ship of the Bristol Church soon increased to nearly 100 
in number, and for some time they held stated meetings 
for divine worship in the lecture room of the Washing- 
ton Hall. 

Having sold their building lot on Otter Street, and 
secured a suitable piece of ground on the southeast corner 
of Walnut and Cedar Streets, for building a church, con- 
tracts were entered into with mechanics : and on the i8th 
of June. 1 85 1, the work had so far progressed as to admit 
of the laying of the corner stone of a handsome church 
edifice, composed of brown sandstone, laid in square 
blocks, hammer-dressed and pointed. The proportions 
were : Main room, 43 by 70 feet; above the vestibule was 
a projecting tower of 7 feet, having a 5-foot recess. Base- 
ment story had three rooms, a lecture room, 41 by 38 
feet, which would seat about 300 persons; and two com- 
mittee rooms, one of which was used for school purposes, 
and the other for the meetings of the trustees. The main 
audience chamber originally seated about 450 persons ; 
had eighty-two pews on the main floor; with a gallery 
which seated an additional 100 persons. The whole prop- 
erty was estimated to be worth about $8,000. 

The Rev. E. A. Rook, a former pastor, in a historical 
sketch read upon the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary 
of the church, held September 19, 1898, gives the names of 
the original members of the church, as follows : 



170 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Amos Corson, Eleizetta Corson, Maria A. Corson, Me- 
lissa Kinsey, Susan Booz, Peter W. Appleton. Mary 
Appleton, Mary A. Sulger, Mary A. Pennington, 
Margaret A. Booz, Alargaret Weisinger, Emily Forst, 
Caroline Murphy, Sarah Johnson, Mary Earl. 

The Rev. Rook further says that these fifteen original 
members, met together on September 19, 1848, for the 
purpose of consulting as to the best means to be adopted, 
for organizing a Baptist Church in Bristol. It was agreed 
at this meeting, that Brother C. Davidson, who was then 
preaching for this little band of believers be requested to 
invite a few of the churches in Philadelphia to send dele- 
gates to sit in council to be convened September 29, 1848. 
An invitation was also extended through Brother Amos 
Corson, to the Holmesburg Church. On September 25th 
another meeting was held by the above named persons at 
which the Articles of Faith and Covenant of the Baptist 
Church, were unanimously adopted. On September 29, 
1848, the ministers and laymen appointed by the Phila- 
delphia churches, as requested by Brother Davidson, met 
in council for the purpose of recognizing as a Baptist 
Church the fifteen persons already mentioned, who pos- 
sessed letters of good standing from sister churches of 
the same faith and order. After the proceedings of the 
preparatory meetings were read by Brother Davidson, 
and the Articles of Faith and Church Covenant had also 
been read, the council retired and after prayer and mature 
deliberation, resolved to recognize the petitioners as a 
Baptist Church of Christ. The Methodist congregation 
kindly loaned their church for the organization exercises. 
On the evening of February 2, 1850, the members of the 
church held a meeting, the object of which was the elec- 
tion of a ])astor. The following resolutions were unani- 
mously adopted : 

Resolved, That our esteemed Brother, C. J. Page, now located 
at Milestown, Pa., be and is hereby called to the pastoral care 
and oversight of this church. 

Resolved, That a committee of three, consisting of P>rethren 
Corson, Thompson and Morgan, be appointed to convey to 
Brother Page a copy of the above resolution, and invite him to 
accept the call to become our pastor. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 171 

The above call was accepted by Brother Page, who en- 
tered upon his duties April i, 1850. Rev. Page re- 
mained with the church until 1856, when he resigned, 
after a faithful pastorate of over six years. The following 
pastors have served since that time : 

Rev. William Swinder, 1856 to 1859; Rev. John Miller, 
1859 to 1862; Rev. Malachi Taylor, 1862 to 1866; Rev. 
Thomas Goodwin, 1867; Rev. Henry Bray, 1868 to 1870; 
Rev. J. C. Hyde, 1871 to 1874; Rev. C. E. Harden, 1875 
to 1876; Rev. W. H. Conrad, 1877 to 1880; Rev. Levi J. 
Beck, 1880 to 1886; Rev. I. D. King, 1886 to 1889; Rev. 
I. W. Goodhue, 1889 to 1891 ; Rev. W. H. Clipman, 1892 
to 1894; Rev. E. A. Rook, 1894 to 1901 ; Rev. Thomas Mc- 
Kay, 1901 to 1905; Rev. Wm. T. Johnston, 1906 to the 
present. 

During the pastorate of the Rev. J. C. Hyde, the heavy 
debt which had hung over the church since the erection of 
its building, was cancelled. During the past five years, 
the interior of the church has been greatly changed. The 
old gallery in the top story has been taken away, a 
sloping floor introduced, stained glass windows installed, 
while the lower story has been greatly improved. New 
comfortable pews have been placed in the church audi- 
torium and a pipe organ adds much to the attractiveness 
of the services. A series of meetings for men, held on 
Sunday afternoons, have proven very profitable and popu- 
lar. In a recent efifort to raise funds for the cancellation 
of some of the church debt, about $800 were raised. 

Bristol Newspapers. — Bristol has been the birthplace 
of several newspapers. In June, 1849, William Bache, 
greatgrandson of Franklin, commenced the publication of 
the Bristol Gazette, a small weekly. It lived through 
fifty-two issues, and met its death some time in 1850, for 
want of adequate support. In 1854, a new paper came 
into life in the borough, being published in the interest 
of the Know-nothings, a political party just entering into 
power. It was called the Bucks County American and 
made its appearance on the Fourth of July. In its sec- 
ond year it was wedded to the Burlington American, 
making a twenty-eight column paper. There was no 



172 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

union of interest between the publishers, in business or 
Otherwise, the object being to furnish the patrons on both 
sides of the river with a more readable newspaper. There 
was a double issue. The proprietor at Burlington was 
Samuel C. Atkinson, while that at Bristol was William 
Bache, a newspaper pioneer along the Delaware. Both 
papers were printed on the same forms, taken back and 
forth across the river. The Bucks County American 
died with the decline of the party it was started to sup- 
port. Following the death of the Bucks County Ameri- 
can Wm. Bache established a paper called Bache's Index, 
which existed for about one year and was discontinued 
in 1861. In April, 1871, the Bristol Observer was estab- 
lished by James Drury, a graduate of the Doylestown 
Democrat. It was continued until a few years ago, when 
the failing health of its proprietor caused its withdrawal. 
In August of 1873, Jesse O. Thomas, of Ohio, began the 
publication of the Bucks County Gazette, of thirty-two 
columns. Its first issue was on August 14, and it has 
continued without intermission ever since. In July, 1888, 
the Evening Journal was published by William C. Wat- 
son. It was the first daily newspaper started in Bristol. 
It continued for five months, when it was supplanted by 
the Weekly Journal. The latter paper was merged into 
the Every Evening ii,i 1889. The Every Evening ceased 
its publication in August, 1891 for want of patronage. In 
1906 the Weekly Courier, a forty-eight-column paper, was 
established by Wm. C. Watson, and has since built up a 
large circulation. The Bristol Republican, which was 
run as a local adjunct to the Doylestown Daily Repub- 
lican, and later the Doylestown Daily Intelligencer, was 
started in the spring of 1908, and discontinued December 
10, 1910. The Daily Courier began its career on Monday, 
October 3, 1910. 

Downing's Flour Mill. — About 1850, a flour mill was 
erected on the north bank of Adams' Hollow Creek, near 
the river, by Joseph M. Downing, the grandfather of 
George and Wm. M. Downing. The building was two 
stories in height, was equipped with the latest improved 
machinery and was operated by steam power. It Avas 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I73 

Started as an active competitor of the Bristol Mills. Upon 
the death of Joseph Downing, the business was con- 
tinued by his son, Allen Downing, and he, in turn, was 
succeeded by a man named Van Dyke. Later the busi- 
ness was discontinued and the building" converted into a 
snufif mill by Alexander Ralph & Co. About 1870, it was 
destroyed by fire. Ralph removed to Philadelphia, where 
he continued in the snufif business and amassed a for- 
tune. During his residence in Bristol, Mr. Ralph was an 
active member of the Presbyterian Church. 

Pleasing Reminiscences by C. Wesley Milnor. — Among 
the many aged citizens of Bristol, is C. Wesley Milnor, 
a native Bristolian, and one whose splendid memory, 
combined with his affable manner, make him a pleasing 
conversationalist. At the request of the author, he cheer- 
fully contributed the following reminiscences of that im- 
portant period in the town's history, 1850 to i860, when 
Bristol reached the zenith of its prosperity as a coalport 
town. 

"The chief industry in Bristol at this time was the 
shipping of coal. The coal was brought from the mines 
in canal boats down the canal and after being unloaded 
on the coal wharves, which were located along the river 
front, was reloaded into vessels and shipped to New 
York and other points. The coal wharves owned by the 
Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., extended from Mill Street 
to the 'mouth of the apron,' and were the largest in town. 
Asa Packer & Co.'s wharf was just north of Market 
Street. The wharf of the Hazleton Coal Co. was located 
where the waterworks now stand. Between Franklin 
and Penn Streets was the wharf of Gilbert Tomlinson, 
and back of the residences of the late J. K. Wildman, F. 
F. Bell and H. B. Beatty, were wharves operated by 
Lewis Audenreid & Co. 

"The Buck Mountain Coal Co. had wharves above the 
Hollow Creek. The old f3eaver Meadow House, which 
stood on the site of the present Elks' Home, was a board- 
ing house, kept by Mrs. Thomas Crooks, for the men 
who worked on the wharves. 

"Canal stables for the accommodation of the horses 



174 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

and mules used on the canal, extended from Lock 2, 
back of Mill Street, to Lock 4, opposite the Pennsylvania 
Railroad freight station, and also along the southwest 
side of the canal basin. A large stable stood near the 
overflow, back of the old forge, and was destroyed by 
fire. These stables created a large business for the farm- 
ers who sold their grain and hay and straw to the owners. 
The large number of boatmen in the town, as well as the 
large number employed on the coal wharves, contributed 
to the prosperity of the community and gave to the town 
an air of thrift. Among the important stores may be 
noted the following: James V. Foster, James Brudon, 
John Wright, Allen Brothers, Robert Booz, Israel Allen, 
Jackson Hibbs, Bostwick & Cabeen and Pierce & Scott. 
Most of these men, who engaged in business in that day, 
amassed small fortunes and are remembered today as 
honored citizens. Labor was cheap and food was also 
cheap. 

"An important industry in the town, besides the old 
forge spoken of elsewhere, was a foundry on Wood 
Street near Mulberry. It was originally operated by 
James Phillips. His successor was John McNeal, father 
of Andrew McNeal, who later was at the head of the 
large pipe works located near Burlington. Kelly & 
Ayers succeeded McNeal, and later Ayers retired and the 
business was conducted by William Kelly. About 1869 
the foundry was destroyed by fire. 

"Pond Street, in those days, was opened as far up as 
Dorrance Street and was called 'Highty Lane.' Only 
two houses had been built on the west side above Walnut 
Street, one of which was occupied by Charles Johns and 
the other by Joseph Teneyck, both of whom were col- 
ored. Where De Witt's house now stands was a building 
occupied by William Wright, the father of our respected 
townsman, the late Jonathan Wright. Franklin and Penn 
Streets had been cut through as far as Wood Street. The 
Friends owned the land above their present graveyard, 
up as far as the alley back of Dorrance Street. Both 
Penn and Franklin Streets contained but half a dozen 
houses each, occupied by men engaged in the coal trade. 
At the southwest corner of Penn and Cedar Streets lived 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 1/5 

William Tyrol, the father of John Tyrol. Above Penn 
Street was a farm, which extended up to the Bostwick 
property above Lafayette Street and west from Rad- 
cliffe Street to Pond. This farm was purchased by 
John Dorrance, Sr., and Henry M. Wright, who divided 
the land up into building lots and opened Dorrance, 
Washington and Lafayette Streets. The farmer who 
lived upon this plot of ground was named James John- 
son. His house stood at the intersection of Dorrance 
and Radclifife Streets and was torn down when the 
former street was opened. The old barn connected with 
the farm, stood at the corner of Cedar and Lafayette 
Streets for many years afterward. The farm above and 
adjoining this land was owned by Cyrus Pierce, the 
father of Joshua Peirce. Following his death, the sons 
developed the land and opened up Jefferson Avenue. 

"On the west side of the railroad in what is now called 
the mill district, and extending from Beaver Dam Road 
to Jefferson Avenue, the land belonged to Captain 
Hutchinson. It contained three large ponds, on which 
the boys skated in winter. Captain Hutchinson at one 
time occupied the house on Radcliffe Street, now the 
home of Jos. R. Grundy. While living there he built the 
large mansion on west Jefferson Avenue now occupied 
by the German Club, and resided there until his death. 

"Buckley Street had been opened, but few houses had 
been erected. A rope manufacturing industry was 
located on the street just above the mill race. The 
building was 125 feet in depth and one story high. The 
methods used were crude. The rope walker carried a 
circle of hemp around his waist. One end was attached 
to a large wheel which was turned by hand and made the 
twist. While the rope walker stepped backward he 
manipulated the threads of hemp and with the assistance 
of the man at the wheel twisted them into a rope. This 
business was conducted by W. J. Jeffries. Snedeker's 
machine shop also stood on Buckley Street near Bath. 
It was built for repairing agricultural machinery used on 
the farms near Bristol. 

"Bath Street and Otter Street were important highways 
leading into the town but contained very few houses. 



176 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

On the west side of Otter Street there was not a house 
from near the corner of Bath Street, down to below 
Schmidt's greenhouses. Walter Laing and Samuel 
Swain had purchased the lower end of the field and had 
projected the laying out of streets and building lots. 

"One of the smaller industries in the town was that 
of shoemaking. Making shoes by machinery was un- 
heard of and the wholesale stores in the larger cities 
placed their orders for hand-made shoes with the work- 
men in the surrounding towns. Bristol's close proximity 
to Philadelphia encouraged the industry here, and many 
of our citizens engaged in the business. Most manufac- 
turers employed a number of apprentices, and in this way 
the shoe business gave employment to a large number of 
citizens. Among the many who engaged in the business, 
the following can be remembered: Clayton Pope, Alexan- 
der Morrison, Nathaniel Brodnax, Lewis Holt, Charles 
Banes, Henry Gear, Jacob S. Young." 

Bristol's Forges. — In 1852 a stock company, with a 
capital of $12,000, built the Bristol forge for the manu- 
facture of heavy shafting and other large pieces of 
wrought iron. This business was fairly successful. When 
the demand for armor plates for government warships 
created a market for their products both active and profit- 
able, the capital stock was increased to $125,000, and the 
capacity of the works greatly enlarged ; but, unfortunate- 
ly, too late to reap the anticipated advantage therefrom. 
The large amount of iron-working machinery put into 
operation all over the country during the war, and the 
sudden withdrawal of demand for the products conse- 
quent upon its termination, created a depression in the 
business, from which this company never recovered. The 
plant was subsequently entirely removed. It was in this 
forge that the iron plates were made for the hull of "New- 
Ironsides," a man-of-war, which gained prominence in 
the Civil War, and was burned at the old Philadelphia 
navy yard. 

Stimulated by the large profits of the Bristol Forge 
and Iron Company during the brief period of its pros- 
perity, a second organization was formed under the name 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I77 

and title of the Keystone Forge Company, with a capital 
of $87,000. An extensive plant was erected on the east- 
ern side of the old railroad, south of Mill Street, but too 
late to receive any profitable business. Losses thus in- 
curred absorbed nearly the whole capital. The old build- 
ing was used by the Democratic pioneer corps, to drill 
in, during the Hancock-Garfield political campaign in the 
fall of 1880, and was removed about the year 1882, when 
the Pennsylvania Railroad changed the course of its road- 
bed south of Mill Street. 

Landreth's Machine Shop. — A machine shop was 
established at the corner of Pond and Mulberry Streets 
in 1852, for the manufacture of Allen's Swift-Sure Mow- 
ing Machine, Corn Sheller, Plows and other agricultural 
implements. The business was conducted by David 
Landreth & Sons, of Bloomsdale, and was run as an ad- 
junct to their Philadelphia business. The output was 
sold mostly at Peoria, 111. ; St. Louis, Mo., and Charles- 
town, S. C, where the manufacturers maintained exten- 
sive sales rooms. This manufacturing business was dis- 
continued in 1862 and the building was leased by John 
Bardsley, who later became city treasurer of Philadel- 
phia, and fitted up as a woolen mill. Bardsley retained 
possession for five years, and on the evening of October 
16, 1876, the building was burned to the ground. (Con- 
tributed by Captain Burnet Landreth.) 

The Temperance War. — Back in the early fifties, the 
temperance question agitated the minds of our citizens 
and the movement became a popular one. Meetings 
were held in Institute Hall, which stood on the site of the 
present postoffice building at the corner of Radclifife and 
Market Streets. Thomas P. Hunt was one of the promi- 
nent orators of that day. Meetings were also held in a 
tent on Radcliffe Street, where the Algonquin clubhouse 
is located. Wanger, the Poughkeepsie blacksmith, 
charmed the people with his eloquence. Twenty-five 
years later the "old grove," which stood on Pond Street, 
above DeWitt's greenhouses, was the scene of many 
meetings held in the interest of the temperance cause. 



178 A HISTORY OF I'.RISTOL BOROUGH. 

An orator named William A. Lafferty was active in the 
work. 

In the winter of 1885-6, the temperance cause de- 
veloped its greatest strength. The W. C. T. U. brought 
suit against a citizen for illegally selling liquor, and he 
was promptly convicted. While giving attention to the 
prosecution of this suit, the ladies were apprised of the 
applications for license on file from other parties, against 
three of whom they had evidence of violation of the law. 
and promptly had the j^roper remonstrances prepared and 
presented to the court. 

It being apparent that the court was inclined to deal 
harshly with those found guilty of violation of the liquor 
laws, the hotel and saloon keepers, through their attor- 
ney, B. F. Gilkeson, Esq., solicited the consideration of 
the ladies, to a proposition in the shape of a pledge of the 
saloon keepers to obey the law, in consideration of which 
the remonstrances were asked to be withdrawn and no 
further prosecutions instituted for past offences. Fol- 
lowing is a copy of the pledge : 

"We, the undersigned licensed dealers in spirituous, vinous, 
malt and brewed liquors, in the Borough of Bristol, County of 
Bucks, and State of Pennsylvania, do hereby agree as follows : 

First. That we will close and keep closed our respective bar- 
rooms and saloons on Sunday, and will sell no liquor of any 
kind whatever to any person or persons, nor suffer the same 
to be sold or given away upon our respective premises to any 
persons on Sunday. 

Second, That we will sell no liquor, either spirtuous, vinous, 
malt or brewed, to any person under 21 years of age, nor suffer 
or permit any such person to be given any of the said liquors 
upon our respective premises. 

Third, That we will close our respective places of business 
every night at 12 o'clock and not permit the same to be opened 
until sunrise the next day. 

Fourth, That no pool table shall be permitted upon our re- 
spective premises, nor shall any game of chance be played either 
for drinks or otherwise in our respective places of business. 

Fifth, That those of us who do buisness under a restaurant 
license will sell no whiskey, gin, brandy, or other spirituous 
liquor to any person or persons nor permit the same to be sold 
or given away at our places of business. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I79 

Sixth, That we shall sell no liquor of any kind to any person 
visibly intoxicated, or of known intemperate habits, nor will we 
sell liquors of any kind to any person after receiving notice not 
to sell from such person or persons who by law give such 
notice. 

Seventh, That in all other respects we will faithfully obey 
the laws relating to the sale of liquor. 

Eighth, That any violation of this agreement upon the part of 
any one of us, which shall come to the knowledge of any of 
the subscribers hereto, shall be at once reported to our attor- 
ney to be dealt with according to law. 

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals 
this sixth day of February, A. D., 1886. 

This pledge was signed by all the proprietors of 
licensed places in the borough, except three, one of whom 
was tried before the court, and being found guilty, the 
license was transferred to another person. The ladies 
of the W. C. T. U. were reluctant to entertain the propo- 
sition, but upon the advice of their attorney, Henry Lear, 
of Doylestown, finally decided to do so, upon the ground 
that it secured them all they could hope to obtain, if the 
cases were continued, and would place them in a strong 
position for the future, without compromising anything. 

In more recent years the temperance question has be- 
come a political issue, and has injected itself into the elec- 
tion of state assemblymen, who favor the passage of a 
local option law. 

A History of Bristol's Physicians Down to 1854. — 

From writings by the late William Kinsey, we are able to 
obtain some interesting information about Bristol's old- 
time physicians. Mr. Kinsey, in a newspaper article of 
long ago, says : 

"There is no record that gives any account of the names 
of the first physicians who practiced medicine in Bristol. 
I have heard my grandparents, who were amongst the 
early settlers, speak of Dr. John Abraham de Normandie 
practicing in their early days, and said he was their 
family physician. They spoke of him as a man of dis- 
tinguished ability. He emigrated with his father from 
Geneva, in the year 1706, and settled in Bristol. They 
were descendants of a distinguished family in France, 



l8o A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

and being Huguenots, fled to America to escape perse- 
cution. Their remains lie in the Episcopal graveyard, 
Bristol. An interesting account of the family is given in 
Davis' History of Bucks County. He was supposed to be 
the first regular physician that settled in the county. 

"Dr. William Mcllvain practiced as early as 1748. He 
was a brother of Bishop Mcllvain and had an extensive 
practice; he also had a brother Joseph, who held a com- 
mission in the army. His father sent him to Edinburg 
to finish his education. His remains lie in the Episcopal 
graveyard, Bristol. 

"Dr. Wm. Hewston practiced previous to the Revolu- 
tionary War, removed to Philadelphia, and became one 
of the prominent physicians of the city. 

"Dr. Joseph P. Minick practiced as early as 1770. He 
was the founder of the Bath Springs, and built the large 
bath house in 1807, for the accommodation of his patients 
who came from all parts of the country for the benefit of 
the chalybeate water, which in that day was considered 
the best for curing diseases of any mineral water that 
had yet been discovered in the country. Bristol in that 
day became a great resort for invalids from all parts 
(even from the West Indies), who professed to have been 
cured by the use of the waters. The doctor sold the 
property and removed to Ohio. 

"Dr. Amos Gregg came to Bristol from Middletown 
previous to the year 1785. He was considered a reliable 
physician and had an extensive and successful practice. 
He built the house now belonging to R. Trudgon, in Mill 
Street, which was then the largest and finest mansion in 
the borough. He was several times elected to the office 
of councilman and chief burgess, and filled many offices 
of trust and responsibility. His practice amongst 
Friends, of which society he was a member, was very 
extensive. He died in 1817, having accumulated a large 
amount of property. 

"Dr. John S. Mitchell studied medicine vinder Dr. Wil- 
son, of Buckingham ; came to Bristol in 1817, married a 
Bristol lady and practiced about a year, and then moved 
to Hulmeville. where he had a large practice. He was 
frequently called upon to consult with physicians in the 



J 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. l8l 

neighborhood in extreme and dangerous cases. He was 
looked upon as a man of more than ordinary abilities; 
though slow in his movements he was generally success- 
ful in his practice. In 1840, he moved to Cape May Coun- 
ty, N. J., and shortly after died there. 

"Dr. Henry Desborough came to Bristol from Philadel- 
phia about the year 1800. He brought testimonials from 
the Humane Society of having restored to life a boy who 
was drowned in the Schuylkill after being in the water 
three-quarters of an hour. He was a man of fine appear- 
ance and of excellent elementary education, was consid- 
ered the best surgeon in the county and had nearly all 
the practice in that line. He was fond of good horses,- 
kept a pack of hounds, and was prominent in the sports 
of his day. He was fond of a good joke and played many 
on the boys who came under his treatment whom he sus- 
pected of robbing his fruit trees. On one occasion a boy 
suspected of steaHng his plums went to his office to have 
a tooth extracted. The doctor seated him, applied the 
forceps, then with his arm around his head to keep him 
from getting away he gave them a twist, when the boy 
gave a yell — another twist and another yell, the boy 
struggling to get away. The doctor said : "You are the 
boy who stole my plums." When he promised to do so 
no more, he drew the tooth and the boy went out of the 
office breathing threatenings against the doctor. He re- 
mained unmarried until about two years previous to his 
death, which took place in 1823. He was greatly respect- 
ed by the people for his liberality towards the poor. 

"Dr. John Phillips was born in Lawrenceville, N. J., in 
1790, studied medicine with Dr. Smith in New Bruns- 
wick, graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, and 
came to Bristol in 1812 and began the practice of medi- 
cine. He was a man of fine personal appearance, being 
over six feet in height. He married Deborah, daughter 
of Dr. Amos Gregg, who for many years was one of the 
leading physicians of the borough. She was a lady of 
refinement and noted for her benevolence. Dr. Phillips 
was highly educated in the science of medicine and was 
eminently successful in clinical practice. As a physician, 
he obtained great distinction, devoting himself with un- 



l82 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

remitting" zeal for nearly a half century to the duties of a 
very extensive practice, during which he was called upon 
to treat cases of unusual character. During the epidemic 
that prevailed in Bristol and vicinity in 1823, which 
baffled the efforts of physicians in their treatment of its 
victims, so alarming was its effects upon the people that 
the Board of Health, with many physicians from Phila- 
delphia, visited Bristol to make examinations into the 
character and effects on its victims. ^During the preva- 
lence of the disease, for upwards of four weeks, the doc- 
tor's practice extended into the townships of Bensalem, 
IMiddletown, Falls, Morrisville and Bristol. Great was 
the joy of the people when the epidemic passed away, the 
cause of which was never satisfactorily accounted for. 
The doctor made as many as sixty visits in twenty-four 
hours. He was frequently called upon to consult with 
physicians in extreme cases. He was positive in his con- 
victions, and had no sympathy with any man who prac- 
ticed medicine under any other diploma than that issued 
by the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania. He 
held many offices of honor and trust in the borough and 
under the general government, succeeded in securing a 
large amount of property from his practice, and died in 
1861 in the seventy-second years of his age, greatly 
lamented. The doctor treated a case during his practice 
that gave him great prominence in the higher circles of 
society. Joseph Bonaparte, the brother of the great 
Napoleon, who possessed successively the crowns of 
Naples and Spain, whilst living in his splendid mansion at 
Point Breeze, N. J., in making a visit to his friend, Major 
Lenox, residing in Bristol, was accidentally thrown from 
his carriage opposite the Coates' farm (now D. Landreth 
& Sons), and was seriously injured. The doctor b.ad 
been visiting his jjatients near Tullytown, and returning 
he overtook the ex-king, who was sitting by the roadside 
unable to rise. He lifted him into his buggy and drove to 
the Delaware House. Under the doctor's treatment he 
recovered so as to be able to return home the same eve- 
ning. A day or two afterwards the doctor received a let- 
ter from the count in which was enclosed a $100 note, 
with thanks for the kindness he had received. Shortly 



1 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 183 

after another remembrance came — a beautiful steel en- 
graved likeness of the great Napoleon, handsomely 
framed, which is now in the possession of one of the doc- 
tor's grandchildren. 

"Dr. Henry Lippincott came to Bristol about the year 
1838. He taught school in the Friends' Meeting House, 
a year or more, and then commenced the study of medi- 
cine with Dr. John Phillips. After graduating he re- 
mained in Bristol a short time, then removed to Fall- 
sington, where, after many years of successful practice, he 
died. 

"Dr. Somers came to Bristol in 1823 from Philadelphia, 
to attend the patients of Dr. Desborough, who was taken 
sick and died in September of that year. Shortly after he 
bought the property occupied by Dr. Desborough and 
commenced practice. Although considered a good phy- 
sician he did not succeed, and after a residence of five 
or six years returned to Philadelphia. 

"Dr. Samuel McClellan came to Bristol in 1824. He 
practiced here about two years and returned to Philadel- 
phia, where he built up a good practice. He was greatly 
admired for the genial manner in which he met his 
patrons. He died in the prime of life, leaving a large 
circle of friends to mourn the loss of a young man who 
bid fair to be a valuable acquisition to the medical fra- 
ternity. He was a brother of the widely known and 
celebrated surgeon, George B. McClellan. During his 
short stay in Bristol, he had a case of accidental shooting 
which the physicians said was very skilfully and success- 
fully managed. A guard on one of the mail coaches be- 
tween Philadelphia and New York, in dismounting from 
his seat, accidentally discharged his pistol, one ball enter- 
ing his face below the eye and the other his neck. The 
doctor extracted the ball from the neck and the man 
recovered. Some three years later the ball that entered 
his face was taken out of his throat. 

"Dr. Edward Swain was the son of Benjamin Swain, 
whose ancestors were among the early settlers of the 
county. He studied medicine with Dr. Phillips, gradu- 
ated in 1833, commenced practice shortly after, became 
popular, and was generally successful in the treatment of 



184 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

his patients. But he, like a great many young men of 
promise, was suddenly cut off in the midst of life. On 
the fourth day of July, 1839, he accepted an invitation to 
take an excursion to Philadelphia on the steamboat Bur- 
lington. Shortly after the boat left Burlington she was 
run into by the steamer Pilot Boy. The doctor being in 
a side room at the time, was crushed to death and fell 
into the river. It was many days before his body was 
recovered. Thus died a young man of bright prospects, 
leaving a widow and three children to mourn the loss of 
a kind husband and affectionate father. 

"Dr. W'm. Bessonett was a son of John Bessonett, who 
kept the Delaware House for upwards of forty years. He 
studied medicine with Dr. Physic, of Philadelphia, in 
1823. After his graduation he practiced two years in 
Bristol, when he emigrated to New Albany, Miss., 
through the persuasion of a resident of that place, where 
he succeeded in securing a good practice. 

"Dr. Benjamin Tomlinson was a son of Henry Tomlin- 
son, an old resident of Bristol. He studied medicine with 
Dr. John Phillips in 1826, graduated with distinguished 
honor, remained in Bristol a year, and then removed to 
South Amboy, N. J., where he became noted for his suc- 
cess in the treatment of malignant fevers. He died in 
1835 greatly and deservedly lamented. 

"Dr. Reynold Coates came to Bristol from Philadelphia 
in the year 1838. He was a younger brother of the cele- 
brated Dr. Coates, who was for many years connected 
with the Pennsylvania Hospital. He was an educated 
and talented man, with pleasant and agreeable manners, 
but did not succeed in his practice. His wife was the 
daughter of a Philadelphia merchant who spent much 
money on her education. She was gay and giddy and 
was the first woman in Bristol to appear on the streets in 
bloomer costume. Being short in stature, she did not 
make a favorable appearance, and was severely criti- 
cized by the women of the borough. Some said she must 
be fond of showing her extremities, and others that she 
wanted to attract the attention of the men, of whom she 
was very fond. The doctor, finding his practice decreas- 
ing, moved to Camden, where he succeeded in obtaining 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 185 

a large and lucrative business. His wife died shortly 
after leaving Bristol. 

"Dr. E. B. Dodson came to Bristol in the year 1836 from 
Philadelphia. He graduated at the University of Penn- 
sylvania, was well educated in the science of medicine, 
and was successful in treating his patients, but not suc- 
ceeding financially he returned to Philadelphia, where 
he died in 1861. 

"Dr. L. V. Rousseau came to Bristol in the year 1848 
from Bridgewater, Bensalem Township. He was the son 
of the celebrated French physician, Joseph B. Rousseau, 
of Philadelphia, who studied medicine and graduated in 
France, practiced some time in San Domingo, and re- 
moved to Philadelphia, where he became noted for his 
success in his treatment of extreme cases. He owned and 
occupied a beautiful residence in Bensalem Township, on 
the banks of the Delaware, known as the Clock House, in 
which he kept a light burning at night to warn watermen 
of the rocks located in the river in front of his house. He 
was much esteemed by his neighbors. Dr. L. V. Rosseau 
studied medicine with his father and graduated at the 
University of Pennsylvania. He was a man of excellent 
education and agreeable manners, and had an extensive 
practice in medicine and surgery, in which he was very 
successful in his treatment. He married the granddaugh- 
ter of Captain John Green, who lived in Bristol Town- 
ship, on the banks of the Neshaminy, and who was cap- 
tain of the first ship that carried the American flag to 
China. The doctor had the confidence and esteem of his 
fellow-citizens in matters pertaining to everyday life. He 
built the beautiful residence at the corner of Cedar and 
Mulberry Streets. He died in 1876, having practiced 
twenty-eight years in Bristol. His great success was in 
the treatment of typhoid fevers — seldom losing a case. 
He was a prominent member of Bristol Lodge, No. 25, 
F. & A. M., having passed the chairs with honor, and ad- 
vanced in the higher degrees. 

"Dr. Joseph Pease came to Bristol from Philadelphia in 
1836. He was a young man, well educated, a descendant 
of a wealthy family in the city who spent their summers 
in Bristol, which place was thought by his friends to be 



l86 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

a good place to commence his medical labors in. But 
alas ! all their hopes were blasted by his sudden death, 
which was the result of an imprudent act on his part. 
One very warm day, while suffering from the heat he 
went into the cellar to cool off — was stricken with a chill, 
and died the next day. 

"There was a Dr. Hagerman and a Dr. Brent who came 
to Bristol between the years 1835 and 1840, neither of 
whom remained long enough to establish a medical repu- 
tation. From whence they came or whither they went, 
I am unable to say. 

"Dr. Augustus Guerard came to Bristol about the year 
1838. He was from Savannah, Ga., attended lectures 
and graduated in Philadelphia. He was associated in 
practice with Dr. John Phillips for several years, and was 
considered a safe and reliable physician. He married the 
daughter of David Swain, an old and much respected citi- 
zen of Bristol. He built the house now owned by Mrs. 
Clemens, on Radcliffe Street, and resided there at the 
time of his death, which took place in 1859. He was a 
good citizen and a worthy man. 

"Dr. Benjamin jMalone came to Bristol from Bucking- 
ham, in 1845. He practiced until 1849, when he was 
elected to the state senate for three years. After the ex- 
piration of his term he removed to Philadelphia and died 
there. During his stay in Bristol he made many friends, 
was generally successful in practice, which, though not 
large, was amongst the best families in the borough. As 
a citizen, he was active in all movements for the pros- 
perity of the borough and the elevation of human charac- 
ter. During the rebellion he received the appointment 
of purser in the army, which he held during the war. His 
failing health was the cause of his giving up practice. 

"Dr. E. B. Buckman came to Bristol in 1849 ^"^1 pur- 
chased the practice of Dr. Malone. He remained till 1856, 
when he removed to Byberry, and from there to Phila- 
delphia. In 1863 he was professionally in the military 
service, on the field and in charge of hospitals until the 
close of the war, after which he resumed practice in Phil- 
adelphia, where he became prominent as professor in 
surgery and physiology in the Philadelphia University; 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 187 

subsequently a professor of physiology in the Penn 
Medical University. During his residence in Bristol he 
made many friends. His practice was principally 
amongst the Society of Friends, of which he was 
a member, 

"Dr. Wm. Phillips came from Lawrenceville, N. J., 
studied medicine with Dr. John Phillips, graduated at 
the University of Pennsylvania in 1844, married the 
daughter of Dr. Phillips, and commenced to practice with 
him. He was a young man of talent, integrity and zeal; 
his useful life was of short duration. He died in 1854 
greatly and deservedly lamented. He built and occupied 
the house now the residence of Dr. E. J. Groom, on Mill 
Street. 

"Dr. Henry Dorrance came to Bristol in 1850, from 
Philadelphia, remained two years, removed to Burling- 
ton, N. J., remained but a short time, and returned to 
the city. He was a young man of talent, well educated, 
prepossessing and gentlemanly in his intercourse with 
the people. The community being so well supplied with 
older phjlbicians, but little opportunity was offered to 
test his medical skill. 

"Dr. James L. Pierce was the son of Cyrus Pierce, an 
old and much respected citizen of Bristol. He commenced 
practice in 1854, was a young man of talent, excellent 
education and agreeable manners. He married the 
daughter of Garrett and Lydie Lukens, of Bristol, and 
was distinguished for his integrity and zeal in his pro- 
fession, was greatly confided in by his fellow citizens 
and was securing a fine practice when he fell a victim to 
that fell destroyer, consumption, and died in the prime of 
life greatly and deservedly lamented. 

"Amongst the noted persons who studied medicine in 
Bristol was Mrs. James Anderson, who came from Con- 
necticut in 1837 to take charge of the female department 
of the common school. Her maiden name was Anna 
Smith. She was a young lady of fine education and a 
successful teacher. She married James Anderson, prin- 
cipal of the grammar department of the school. They 
were the first teachers in the public school. She gradu- 
ated about the year 1850, remained in Bristol some time, 
13 



l88 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

was successful in the treatment of her cases, and removed 
to Rah way, N. J. 

"Bristol has been the resort of man}- eminent men in 
the medical profession who spent their summers in the 
borough for the benefit derived from the use of its min- 
eral waters. Among the number I remember the name 
of Dr. Mead, of Philadelphia, who brought with him a 
fine span of horses and an elegant barouche. He boarded 
at the Delaware House, which in that day was considered 
the best hotel between Philadelphia and New York ; Dr. 
Pollock, who came from North Carolina, who was the 
owner of a large cotton plantation and had many slaves, 
one of which always accompanied him on his journeys. 
Dr. Prettiman, from South Carolina, with his wife and 
daughter, who always traveled in his own conveyance. 
Dr. Wynn and his son, of New York, boarded at the 
Cross Keys ; they both fell victims to death from indiges- 
tion brought on by partaking of large quantities of 
huckleberries and cream, of which they were very fond, 
just before going to bed. The father was found dead in 
bed, and the son died the next day. Dr. Gill^. a French 
surgeon in Bonaparte's army, who was with him in his 
campaign in Egypt, after Bonaparte's downfall came to 
America and married the daughter of a Philadelphia 
merchant named Fricke. He bought the Bath Springs 
and moved to Bristol in 1820, and remained several years, 
when he sold the property and returned to Philadelphia. 
During his stay here he was frequently called upon to 
consult with the physicians of the borough in surgical 
cases. 

"Dr. James de Normandie. son of Dr. John, moved to 
Bristol, remained two years and then removed to Ohio. 
Dr. James married a daughter of M. Yardley, settled in 
Falls Township and had a very fine practice. 

"Among the noted men was the celebrated Dr. Ben- 
jamin Rush, who was born in Byberry, Philadelphia 
County, who wrote an interesting article on the medical 
properties of the mineral waters at Bath Springs in 1770, 
which was i:)ublished in the Philadelphia papers of that 
period. 

"In olden times, at the commencement of the lectures 



\ 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 189 

in the University of Pennsylvania, there would be great 
fear on the part of the people that their dead would be 
stolen from their graves to supply the students with sub- 
jects for dissection. Many persons employed men to 
watch the graves of their relatives to prevent desecration 
by the body snatchers. A wag wrote the following lines 
and posted them on the gate at the entrance of one of the 
graveyards in Philadelphia, which caused much excite- 
ment on the part of the incredulous : 

"The Body-Snatchers have come 

And made a snatch at me. 
It's very hard these kind of men 

Won't let a body be. 
Don't go to weep upon my grave, 

And think that there I be ; 
They haven't left an atom there 

Of my anatomy." 

Charles Burleigh, the Abolitionist, Denied the Right of 
Free Speech. — In 1839, Charles Burleigh, the celebrated 
abolition lecturer, visited Bristol by invitation from the 
anti-slavery men, to deliver a lecture on "American 
Slavery." Application was made to the board of directors 
for permission to hold the meeting in the public school 
house, which was granted. Notice was published that 
the meeting would be held on Sabbath afternoon at 2 
o'clock. As soon as the people learned that Burleigh was 
an abolitionist, they became greatly excited. Notices 
were posted calling on all good citizens to meet at the 
town hall, Saturday evening, to take such action in the 
matter as may be deemed necessary to prevent the meet- 
ing from being held in the public school house. A large 
number of citizens were present. Speeches were made 
denouncing the board of school directors for their action 
in the matter. A resolution calling on all good citizens 
to be present and prevent Burleigh from lecturing in the 
school house was passed. As early as 10 o'clock on Sun- 
day morning the people began to flock up Wood Street 
to the school house. A committee was appointed to 
guard the entrance to the house. By 2 o'clock a crowd 
of 300 persons had assembled, many of them under the 
influence of liquor, who made violent and noisy demon- 



190 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

strations against the abolitionist. As soon as Burleigh 
and his friends made their appearance the mob made a 
rush for the gate. When he, accompanied by Joseph 
Warner and Cyrus Pierce, attempted to enter, they were 
pushed back into the street. A second and third attempt 
was made, but with no better success. In the scuffle. 
Friend Warner was thrown to the ground and received 
severe bruises. Some of the better class cried shame and 
rushed in to prevent any further violence to Burleigh and 
his friends. Gilbert Tomlinson, president of the board of 
school directors, made a speech denouncing the action of 
the mob. He said the demonstration should have been 
made by remonstrance to the board of directors against 
granting the use of the school house to Burleigh. That 
on a former occasion they had granted the use of the 
house to the Colonization Society and no objection had 
been made on the part of the citizens. He contended 
both sides ought to be heard, for the information of the 
people on the most effectual means for the emancipation 
of the slave. Some of the rowdy part of the crowd cried 
out that no abolitionist should lecture in the public 
school house. Friend Warner said they had acted in 
good faith in the matter. They had made application to 
the board of directors for the use of the house for 
Charles Burleigh to deliver a lecture on slavery, and it 
had been granted. He thought they should have been 
permitted to occupy it for that purpose, but as there was 
so much opposition on the part of those present, they 
would retire to the Friends' Meeting House. He invited 
all to come and hear the speaker. About half the crowd 
followed and the meeting house was crowded. Burleigh 
spoke for two hours on the evil of slavery and the slave 
trade. Many of his hearers, who were opposed to his 
speaking in the school house, said they regretted the 
occurrences of the day and desired that he be' invited to 
deliver another lecture on the same subject. A series of 
meetings were provided for, and Charles Burleigh for 
several years held his meetings without molestation. He 
moved his family to Bristol during the two years he re- 
mained. He frequently addressed the people. His con- 
gregations were large and respectable. Many who op- 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. IQI 

posed his lecturing in the school house became his warm- 
est friends. His intercourse with the people and his 
open, manly demonstrations against the evils of slavery 
did much in creating a strong anti-slavery sentiment in 
the minds of the citizens of Bristol and vicinity. 

From the late William Kinsey's memoirs, we learn that 
the president of the school board was a local preacher in 
the Methodist Church, and that when the quarterly con- 
ference considered the renewal of his license, objections 
were made to the passing of his character on the ground 
that he was in sympathy with the Abolitionists, and had 
made a speech in favor of one Charles Burleigh, speak- 
ing in the public school house on the subject of "Ameri- 
can Slavery." It was charged in the quarterly conference 
that the brother, by his speech and action in the matter, 
had aided in a breach of the peace and desecration of the 
Lord's Day, and there was much feeling manifested on 
the part of the members, some contending that the bro- 
ther had not been guilty of any impropriety in what he 
had said or done on that occasion. If he believed slavery 
was an evil he had a right to say so. He had the authori- 
ties of the church to sustain him. He had never brought 
the matter before the church in any speeches, therefore 
this conference had no right to deprive him of his license. 
During the discussion the Elder asked the brother if he 
believed that slavery was a sin under all circumstances. 
He replied, that, as he must give an account to God of all 
he said and did, he believed that slavery was a sin against 
the laws of God and humanity. The elder said he would 
not renew the license of any man who entertained such 
sentiments, and also declined to put the question. Some 
of the brethren contended that the motion to pass his 
character and renew his license was properly before the 
conference and demanded a vote. The elder said there 
was no necessity for a vote on passing his character, as 
he would not P^ive him a license. There was much ex- 
citement and bitter controversy on the subject. The bro- 
ther with his family withdrew from the church. 

Public School No. 2. — In 1852 the school house on 
Wood Street being inadequate to accommodate the chil- 



192 



A HISTORY OF HRISTOL BOROUGH. 



dren of the town, measures were taken to provide for 
another building. A lot situated on the east side of Otter 
Street, known as the "Baptist lot," was purchased at a 
cost of v$400. In 1853 ^^^ ^ct of Assembly was obtained, 
which allowed the directors to borrow $3,000, and to 
create a sinking fund for the extinguishment of the debt 
within fifteen years. A tax of $2,800 was also levied for 




OLl) OTTER STRKET PUBLIC SCHOOL, NOW MOHICAN HALL. 



the purpose of paying the balance of claims and for cur- 
rent expenses of the school year. The building commitee 
consisted of J. D. Alendenhall, E. D. Buckman and L. M. 
Wharton. Edmund Lawrence's bid of $4,400 was ac- 
cepted. The corner stone was laid with imposing cere- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I93 

monies in July, 1853. The l)uilding was not completed 
until the spring of 1854. A primary grade school was 
opened in the lower room in September, 1854, with Sarah 
H. Davis as principal and Matilda Swift as assistant. On 
January i, 1855, a school was opened in the upper story 
to accommodate the boys who were employed on the 
canal and could only attend school in the winter. It was 
to continue from month to month as the board might 
direct. Samuel A. Wharton was employed as teacher, 
at a salary of $25.00 per month, payable the next summer. 
In July, 1856, the board found itself deadlocked over the 
election of an assistant teacher for the primary grade, 
and remained so for two months. In September, when 
the schools opened, the increasing demand for seats 
made necessary the employment of two assistant teach- 
ers, instead of one. In this manner the deadlock was 
broken and Sarah J. Repsher and Phebe Hibbs were 
elected. In later years a secondary department was 
established in the upper story with Miss Repsher as 
principal. After the completion of the Bath Street school 
building in 1881, this building was sold to Mohican Tribe, 
No. 127, I. O. of R. M., and is now known as Mohican 
Hall. In Bache's history of Bristol, published in 1853, 
we find the following description of the building 

"School House No. 2 is a handsome Gothic structure, 
of light sandstone, built in broken range work, and paint- 
ed in wdiite ; finished with a cupola; in all, constituting 
one of the handsomest public buildings in the town. It 
contains all the modern improvements for ventilation and 
heating. Its dimensions are 53 by 35 feet ; two stories 
high. The interior arrangement is for a school room 32 
by 36 feet, and a class room 13 by 18 feet, in each story; 
also two entrances and stairways, as a means of egress in 
case of accident, such as has occurred at various times in 
Philadelphia and New York." 

It was in this building that the author received the 
rudiments of an education. Around the old school house 
still cluster many pleasant memories. The following 
lines, simple and crude as they may be, will no doubt 
awaken in the minds of many old time schoolmates, 
memories long since forgotten. 



194 A HISTORY OF ItKlSTOL BOROUGH. 

School Day Memories. 

In memory I travel back, 

To happ3^ days of yore. 
And roam about in childish glee, 

Just as I did before. 

The faces of mj' old schoolmates, 

Again with joy I see, 
While some now gone to Heaven's shore 

Seem beckoning to me. 

The old school house with peaked roof. 
Is standing just the same, 

But some I met within its walls. 
Now tread the paths of fame. 

In memory I see again, 
The wooden pump so dear; 

That stood inside the old schoolyard — 
So often out of gear. 

The old forge too, I can behold 
With all its dirt and grime, 

Its chimney tall, but not so high. 
But what we boys can climb. 

Methinks I see, as oft before. 

A schoolmate climbing high. 
While we. his comrades, stand below, 

'Waiting- our turn to try. 

Old Bunker Hill, that garden spot. 
Where Mother Fiddle ruled. 

And kept a gun to scare us boys. 
So often was she fooled. 

And Otter's Creek just where it bends, 

I walk down to its brim; 
And view again that sacred spot. 

Where we boys learned to swim. 

Beside the schoolyard tall and straight. 

In majesty supreme. 
I see that dear old buttonwood tree. 

Of which I often dream. 

Its spreading branches shelter me. 

As in the daj's of yore, 
1 cut the punk from its gaping side. 

As I often did before. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I95 

The old marsh too, with all its mud 

Attracts my earnest gaze, 
For I cannot forget its charm, 

Through all my passing days. 

But what is that? A crowd of boys, 

The ice is weak and thin, 
And Fred breaks through; but Joe is brave, 

And quietly pulls him in. 

Again the scene is changed once more, 

The schoolyard I behold. 
While underneath my feet there runs, 

A sewer small and cold. 

The boys are linmg up the same. 

And I cannot resist. 
So take my place along with them. 

The last upon the list. 

Then down upon our hands and knees. 

We all begin to crawl. 
And through the sewer one by one, 

We squirm with many a bawl. 

From Otter Street to the railroad tracks. 

We pass beneath the ground. 
And quickly emerge on Goslin's side 

With one triumphant bound. 

And thus again as in a dream. 

Those happy days I see. 
As God in wonder turns for me. 

The pages of memor3^ 

Each dear familiar spot to me. 

Has some particular charm, 
As o'er the well-known paths I tread, 

With playmates arm in arm. 

I hear the merry laughter of 

My schoolmates at their play. 
And join again in childhood's games. 

As in those early days. 

But suddenly a shadow comes. 

Like some bloodthirsty knave, 
As I behold the forms of those 

Long silent in the grave. 



196 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

O, memory; thou fickle thing, 

To tease the minds of men, 
And from the heights of ecstacy 

To dash them down again. • 

So now since thou hast sought to clothe, 

My thoughts in sombre mood, 
I'll ask release, and thank thee well. 

Our walk has done me good. 

Bristol Fire Company No. i. — The action which led to 
the organization of Bristol Fire Company No. i, was 
prompted by two disastrous fires, one of which consumed 
Albernathy's storehouse on the canal basin, and the other 
the frame houses on Mill Street, near Radcliffe. At its 
first meeting-, held in the Town Hall, on March 10, 1857, 
a committee consisting of H. G. Stelwagon, C. W. Peirce. 
Jr., Dr. J. D. Mendenhall, L. A. Hoguet'^and A. L. Packer, 
was appointed to make inquiry relative to the purchase 
of an apparatus. This committee succeeded in raising 
$1,800 by public subscription and placed an order with 
John Agdew, of Philadelphia, to build a new fire engine, 
to cost $950, and be completed in six months. The com- 
mittee also ordered 500 feet of leather hose. ]\Ir. Agdew 
kindly loaned the company a second-hand engine until 
the new one was completed. At the same meeting the 
committee was authorized to purchase a lot at the corner 
of Wood and Market Streets, of Ellen Johnson, for $600, 
upon which to erect an engine house. Subsequently a 
hose carriage was purchased for $400. It was an antique 
affair, consisting of a reel, supported by two heavy 
wheels, with a short tongue or pole to which the rope 
was attached. 

The first officers of the company were Lucius H. Scott, 
president; A. L. Packer, vice president; E. D. Buckman, 
secretary ; J. K. Wildman, assistant secretary ; Louis A- 
Hoguet, treasurer, and H. G. Stelwagon, C. W. Peirce, 
Jr.,'H. L. Strong, R. W. Brooks, Joseph B. Bailey. I. S. 
Tomlinson, W. S. Sulger, John Vanzant, El wood Doron, 
Samuel S. Rue, Edward C. Brudon, Valentine Booz, 
Xathan A. Gaskill, Chas. C. Douglass and Robert Pat- 
terson as directors or engineers. At the meeting of July 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I97 

7th, a committee reported that the charter had been re- 
ceived and was in the possession of the treasurer. 

On December 23rd, the new engine arrived and the 
members gave a short street parade in order to show it to 
the people, after which a demonstration of its working 
quahties was given, which proved entirely satisfactory. 
The first fire at which the new engine was in service, 
occurred about 12 o'clock on Thursday night, March i8th, 
1858. when a frame stable belonging to Jacob Poole was 
entirely consumed at a loss of $600. On the same night 
a frame dwelling and stable owned by J. ]\Ierrick Brown, 
was burned and also two houses, owned by John Davis 
and Robert Sanderson were partly destroyed. The en- 
gine was in service for three hours and threw two streams 
of water constantly. 

In 1868 the members became disheartened over the 
apathy in the community, with regard to the support of 
the company, and a special meeting was called to con- 
sider the advisability of handing over the engine to the 
borough authorities, but it was reported at this meeting 
that council expressed a willingness to assist in defraying 
the expenses of the company, and the members gained 
fresh courage, deciding to struggle on in the good work. 
Several disastrous fires occurred this year, notably St. 
Mark's Roman Catholic Church, Wm. Young's hay press, 
the Farmers' Hotel stables on Bath Street, Budd Doble's 
training stables and the Bristol Woolen Mfg. Co.'s mill. 

In February, 1872, ninety-two new members were 
elected to membership. A new era appeared to be estab- 
lished and on March 5th the committee reported that 
they had purchased the hose carriage formerly owned by 
the Diligent Hose Company, of Philadelphia, for $500, 
and 800 feet of new leather hose at 75 cents per foot. 
The carriage and hose had been housed on February 21st 
and taken out for exhibition and parade on Washington's 
birthday. 

The agitation for the purchase of a steamer began in 
July, 1872, and in a short time $2,000 were raised by sub- 
scription. On October ist, the order was placed for a 
third size Silsby steam fire engine, to be delivered in 
thirty days. On the arrival of the steamer a parade was 



198 A HISTORY Of BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

held, the steamer being drawn by the horses of Good Will 
Fire Company, of Trenton, which were kindly loaned for 
the occasion. The steamer cost $5,000, and was paid for 
by a cash payment of $2,000, a note of $i,t8o at one year, 
note of $1,120 at two years and a note of $1,060 at three 
years, and John R. Boyd was elected engineer. The bell 
was purchased in 1873, having been formerly the Union 
Street Station bell at Philadelphia, weighing 1,423 
pounds. In 1874, at a fire at the canal stables, on the 
property of Joseph Allen, the steamer was damaged by 
having the smoke stack and headlight torn ofif by striking 
the trestle under the railroad bridge, but by the substitu- 
tion of a flour barrel for the smoke stack, good service 
was done and the injury was repaired after reaching the 
engine house. 

On October 6, 1874, the use of the meeting room was 
granted to W. H. P. Hall and others for the purpose of 
organizing a new hose company. This Avas the first 
step in the formation of America Hose, Hook and Lad- 
der Company No. 2, and was followed by formally rent- 
ing the room to that company free of charge, and the loan 
to them of the Fame hose carriage, previously bought 
of Dr. Schenck, with a line of hose. This hose carnage 
was afterwards sold to the new company and 500 feet 
of hose was presented to them to fill the reel. 

On February 13, 1875, the members attended the trial 
of the first fire plug in the town, one having been placed 
at the comer of Radclifife and Walnut Streets by the 
newly organized Bristol Water Company, and also put 
the steamer in service from the river and from the plug, 
the result being very satisfactory, both as to the plug 
stream and the line from the steamer. 

The company participated in the parade at the com- 
pletion of the house of America Ilose, Hook and Ladder 
Com]>any No. 2, and attended Divine service at the M. E. 
Church on iuAitalion of the pastor, the Rev. J. S. Cook, 
on October loth. As evidence of the fact that the serv- 
ices of the company were appreciated by the ladies of the 
borough, a large and handsome flag was presented on 
May 4th, 1876, together with a beautiful banner of blue 
and gold bearing an api^ropriate inscription. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. I99 

On February 22nd, 1877, the hand engine which had 
been kept in good order and repair, was turned over to 
the Fire Brigade of the Bristol Woolen Mills and housed 
in the brigade's building with appropriate ceremonies, 
after a street parade, in order to afford facilities for the 
extinguishing of fires on the west side of the canal. The 
same year a wooden bell tower was erected and the bell 
removed from the cupola and placed in the tower. On 
December 6th, 1877, the company with the steamer and 
hose carriage took part in a parade in Burlington, cele- 
brating the bi-centennial of the settlement of that city. 
In August, 1875, permission was granted the Burgess and 
Town Council to place a third story upon the engine 
house, to be used as a council chamber. 

On October 22, 1882, the company took part in the 
parade and celebration in Philadelphia of the Bi-Centen- 
nial Association of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
and on August 8, 1885, the company's bell was tolled for 
the memorial service of General U. S. Grant. On March 
15, 1886, a pair of horses was purchased at a cost of $500, 
with harness costing $25. A brick stable 33 by 24 feet, 
by 12 feet high, was erected and joined to the engine 
house. On September 15, 1887, the company took part 
in the Philadelphia parade in honor of the Constitutional 
Centennial. The team proving unremunerative, the 
horses were sold in April, 1888, for $350, and arrange- 
ments made with the fire committee of council for haul- 
ing the steamer to and from a fire. 

On July 10, 1890, the purchase of leather hose was 
discontinued, and 400 feet of rubber-lined canvas hose 
were bought. A two-wheel hose cart was bought of the 
Silsby Company in May, 1891, at a cost of $166.25, and 
a pole for drying hose was placed in the lot adjoining 
the building. On April 7, 1897, the fortieth anniversary 
of the company was duly celebrated, and the same year 
the company participated in a parade at the reunion of the 
One Hundred and Fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and 
Durrell's Battery, held in Bristol on September 16, and 
also housed a new hose wagon with swinging harness and 
other modern appurtenances. 

On October 21, 1899, the company responded to an 



200 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

in\-itation from Good Will Hose Company No. 3, to 
assist in the housing of their new combination hose and 
chemical wagon and on June 6, 1901, the com])any joined 
the State Fire Association. During 1903 a hose tower 
was erected and furnished with all necessary conveniences 
for drying hose. In 1904 a horse was purchased for draw- 
ing the hose wagon. On May 19, 1906, the company turned 
out to take part in the ceremony of housing the new 
chemical engine of Good Will Hose Company No. 3, and 
the raising of a flag at the Hall of Mohican Tribe, No. 
127. Imp. O. of R. M. 

On April 8, 1907, the company celebrated its fiftieth 
anniversary with a banquet in Pythian Hall. Of those 
who constituted the company in 1857, ^^"^^ three are 
known to be alive today: William S. Sulger, I. S. Tom- 
linson and G. Morris Dorrance. During the existence 
of the company it has fought successfully about 300 fires. 
Last year (1910), the company purchased an automobile 
hose wagon, with chemical apparatus combined, being 
the first company to introduce an automobile fire ap- 
paratus in Bristol. 

Washington Hall. — This three-storied brick edifice, 
situated at the westerly corner of Radclifife and Walnut 
Streets, was erected by a subscription stock company, 
expressl}^ with the laudable design of supplying that 
much wanted desideratum — a public hall adapted to the 
general convenience of the people, and for the accommo- 
dation of the several popular societies of the day, which 
had s])rung into existence among the citizens of Bristol 
and vicinity. 

The first meeting which was held for the purpose of 
building this hall, convened June 17, 1846; and it was 
then proposed to confine the subscriptions to the building 
among the Odd Fellows (Hopkins Lodge, No. 87), for 
whose accommodation it was in the outset originally de- 
signed. But after consideration among the members, and 
consultation with the citizens, the proposition was modi- 
fied to allow any one to buy shares from the original 
projectors and stockholders, provided the same was first 
ofi^ered to Hopkins Lodge, and declined.. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 20I 

In 1847 the building was completed, and since then 
has accommodated a number of societies and organiza- 
tions, and for several years was the headquarters of the 
old Franklin Building Association, instituted November 
7, 1853. April 7, 1848, the charter was granted, under 
which Trustees were elected annuall3^ The lower story 
which for many years has been the home of "The Bucks 
County Gazette," was in its early days a "lecture room," 
and was transiently rented for all purposes of public 
interest or pastime. Some years after the building was 
erected, Hopkins Lodge, No. 87, absorbed all the stock 
of the company and had the title transferred to them, 
thus winding up the afifairs of said company. 

Building Associations. — It is not often in a manufac- 
turing town that so many of the operatives own the 
houses they occupy as is the case in Bristol. This condi- 
tion of things, so desirable and necessary in every Avell- 
ordered community, has been brought about mainly 
through the agency of building and loan associations. 
The second organization of this character in the state, the 
Bristol Building Association, came into existence Febru- 
ary 22, 1847, when Joshua V. Buckman was elected presi- 
dent, Anthony Swain secretary, Robert C. Beatty trea- 
surer, and Lewis P. Kinsey, Charles W. Peirce, Charles 
T. Iredell, Walter Laing, Joshua Fell, Jonathan Milnor, 
John Dorrance, L. A. Hoguet and William Hauk, direc- 
tors. The plan was simple; the funds first realized 
amounted to $400, which was loaned in sums of half that 
much to the person ofifering the highest premium. Mort- 
gages on real estate and the shares of the borrower were 
held as collateral security. The principal and interest on 
the debt were paid in monthly instalments of one dollar a 
share and one dollar for every two hundred borrowed. 
This association was closed in 1859. Two others had, 
meanwhile, come into existence, the "Franklin" and the 
"Union." The former was organized November 7, 1853. 
with Anthony Swain secretary and Robert C. Beatty 
treasurer. The "Union" was established about the same 
time with Andrew Gilkeson secretary. The "Home" and 



202 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

"Cottage" building associations were started in 1867 and 
1870 respectively, the principal promoters being William 
Hank, L. A. Hoguet and Samuel Swain. The Bristol 
Building Association was incorporated in December, 
1866, having organized August 6th the previous year 
with William Hauk, president ; J. V. Buckman, secretary, 
and L. A. Hoguet, treasurer. The Union Building and 
Loan Association was organized June 8, 1874, with the 
following officers : President, Jonathan Milnor ; secre- 
tary, Samuel Swain ; treasurer, Charles T. Iredell. The 
Fidelity Building Association was organized February 
8, 1885, and incorporated Alarch 26, 1885. Original offi- 
cers: President, James Wright; secretary, A. Weir Gil- 
keson; treasurer, Robert W. Rogers. This was the first 
association in Bristol to adopt the instalment plan of 
paying premiums. The Merchants and Mechanics' 
Building Association was organized October 21, 1885, 
with Charles W. Peirce president, John C. Stuckert, sec- 
retary and Dr. Howard Pursell treasurer. The "Bristol," 
"Union," "Fidelity" and "Merchants and INIechanics'," 
are in active and prosperous operation at the present 
time. 

A New Charter Obtained for the Borough. — At a gen- 
eral town meeting, held July 26, 1850, Samuel Allen, Dr. 
Benjamin Malone, Andrew W. Gilkeson, Anthony Swain, 
William H. Swift, Isaac Van Horn, Pugh Dungan, Wil- 
liam M. Downing, Gilbert Tomlinson and William Bache 
were constituted a committee to prepare a draft of a new 
charter, which, with slight amendments, was passed by 
the legislature and approved February 15, 1851. It in- 
creased the number of councilmen to nine, but abolished 
the office of second burgess. The burgess and council, in 
meeting on the 25th of February, 1853, took into con- 
sideration the propriety of asking such amendments in 
the borough charter as shall secure to the corporation the 
power and control in opening and extending streets, and 
the jurisdiction of the port in building and extending 
wharves and landings. It was determined that these 
privileges should be asked; and an Act was passed at the 
session of 1853, giving burgess and council the necessary 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 203 

powers. The council was increased to ten members in 
1863, and to twelve in 1878, when the borough was divid- 
ed into three wards for election purposes. Today it num- 
bers twenty members, the borough being divided into 
five wards. Prior to 1863 all officers were elected 
annually ; but subsequently the burgess and councilmen 
were elected for two years, two of the latter being 
chosen every year from each ward. Within the last few 
years the burgess has been elected for three years. The 
borough records now extant begin with the year 1 730. 
The official acts of the town fathers reflect much that is 
of interest in connection with village politics in the early 
history of the borough. The ferry, encroachments upon 
the streets, and local nuisances were the most fruitful 
sources of legislation. Public morals were jealously 
guarded. In 1769, when it appeared that crowds were 
accustomed to collect at the Baths on Sunday and be- 
come disorderly, an ordinance was passed forbidding 
any one to loiter in that vicinity; and in the following 
year the custom of collecting on the street corners was 
severely censured. It was disorder incident to the fairs 
that resulted in their discontinuance. The penalty for 
Sabbath-breaking was confinement in the workhouse five 
days at hard labor upon an allowance of bread and water. 
Election days were some times disorderl}-; and that this 
might not occur, the council decreed in 1751, that the 
polls should be opened at i o'clock in the afternoon and 
close precisely at 6 in the evening. 

The Bristol Gas Light Company.— The Bristol Gas 
Light Company was incorporated March 29, 1856, and 
organized with Lucius H. Scott, president, and Charles 
W. Peirce, secretary and treasurer. The manufacture of 
gas was begun July 30, 1857. Several miles of pipe have 
been laid and the conveniences of gas light brought with- 
in the reach of all. A few years ago the company sold 
out its interest to the Public Service Corporation of 
New Jersey. The price of gas at this time (1911) is $1.50 
l^er 1,000 cubic feet. 

M 



204 A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 

Bristol in 1853. — Wm. Bache, writing in 1853, thus 
summarizes Bristol's industrial and business interests at 
that time : 

"At present the greater amount of business in general 
storekeeping is carried on in Mill Street ; which now has 
twelve retail stores for the sale of groceries, provisions, 
clothing, dry goods and housekeeping articles generally. 
Besides these, there are now, on the same street, two 
fancy dry goods and trimming stores, two leather and 
shoe-finding stores, three tin and sheet iron manufac- 
tories, three millinery and two tailoring establish- 
ments, three harness manufactories, three boot and shoe 
makers, a grain and a saw mill, two hat manufacturers, 
one smith-shop, two drug and medicine stores, two tobac- 
conists, one soap and candle manufactory, one cabinet- 
ware maker, a printing office, a watchmaker and jeAveler, 
two bakers and one public house. 

"On Radclifte Street we have three or four stands for 
general store-keeping, one millinery and one ladies' shoe 
store, a confectionery, two public houses, a few shop- 
keepers, and a boat yard. 

"Bath Street is at present chiefly occupied with private 
residences. The property on the upper side, however, 
has been rendered very valuable for landings on the canal 
and on a small inlet of sufficient capacity to admit canal 
boats. Two extensive lumber and coal yards are upon 
this inlet, wdiich yards open on Bath Street. 

"On Cedar Street, one small grocery store, one black- 
smith shop, one wheelwright shop and a livery stable. 

"On Wood Street are two small grocery shops, an iron 
foundry, one ladies' shoe shop, one blacksmith and one 
])aint shop. 

"On Market Street, one blacksmith shop, one ])aint 
shop, one cooper shop, one ladies' shoe sho]:) and two 
livery stables. 

"At Mulberry and Pond Streets is erected Hibbs, Fry 
and Company's machine shops for the manufacture of 
clover hullcrs and cleaners invented and patented ])v 
Jonathan Hibbs, one of the partners. Also on Mulbcrr'v 
street is carried on the business of grain cradle makino-. 



1 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 20$ 

"On Walnut Street, several boot and shoe manu- 
factories. 

"On Buckley Street has recently been erected Strang 
& Morgan's malleable iron and tilt-hammer works, now 
going into active operation. The business of rope mak- 
ing is also carried on in this street. 

"In Otter Street have recently been erected one wheel- 
wright shop and a pump-maker's shop. Otter Street is 
becoming one of the most favorable localities for the 
erection of shops for carrying on the mechanic arts, par- 
ticularly such as are more generally required by our 
neighboring farmers. A small grocery store has recently 
been opened on this street, required by the rapid advance- 
ment in building up the lots opened for improvement in 
that neighborhood in 185 1. 

"On Linden Street is erected an extensive and complete 
coach, wheelwright, blacksmith, painting and coach- 
trimming establishment. 

"A large amount of the river front, and sites on the 
canal, are occupied by coal operators, and some portions 
for boat building. 

"Along the line of the canal, Avithin the limits of the 
town, are several extensive stables, smith shops, a coop- 
er's shop, and stores adapted to the wants of watermen." 

We do not claim in the above recapitulation to have 
noticed all the industrial pursuits of the town; while 
enough has been presented to give a general idea of the 
borough as to its business character in 1853. 

Disastrous Fire; How it Was Fought. — The compiler 
is indebted to our fellow-townsman, Charles M. Foster, 
for the following article which gives an interesting ac- 
count of one of the most disastrous fires which took 
place in liristol prior to the period of the Civil War : 

About 1 o'clock in the morning, on March 4th, 1857. 
the citizens of the town were awakened by the ringing 
of the town house bell and the cry of fire. The town 
was small in comparison with its size today, having about 
600 houses and a population of 3,000 souls. No fire 
apparatus was owned by the town, and when the town 
house bell sounded the alarm all the men and bays re- 



206 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

sponded ])nimptly and with the aid of buckets assisted 
in extinguishing the flames. 

On this particular occasion, fire had broken out in the 
shoe store of David R. Jamson, on Mill Street, which 
stood on the site now occupied by Mrs. Sarah Smith. 
Between it and W. P. Wright's store building, which 
was then occupied as a trimming store by Mrs. Lydia 
Lukens and her two daughters, was an alley which alone 
saved the Lukens' home from destruction. A few days 
before, snow had fallen to the depth of six or eight inches, 
being followed by a warm rain, but on the day of the 
fire the weather had cleared with a strong northwest wind 
blowing and was very cold. The fire quickly spread to 
the next house on the east side, occupied by William 
Scull as a dwelling and oyster house, thence to the little 
ofBce of Joseph B. Pennington, justice of the peace, 
adjoining, and continued to spread to the next house, in 
which was kept a tobacco store by John Vanzant. Mr. 
Scull had in his home thirty-two silver half-dollars, which 
he was unable to secure on account of the rapid progress 
of the fire, but at the end of the conflagration, they were 
all found in the cellar in good condition. 

Bristol having no fire apparatus, water was obtained 
from a well which was located in the yard back of a 
restaurant on the opposite side of Mill Street. This 
pump had l)een put in order only the day before the fire 
by our fellow townsman, the late Joseph Tomlinson. 
Two lines of men were formed across Mill Street, one of 
which passed the full l:)nckcts and the other returned the 
empty ones. These men worked unceasingly until 9 
o'clock in the morning, the fingers of many being almost 
frozen and were thawed out in warm water. 

■A New York passenger train was detained at llristol 
station by the freezing of the sup])ly pipe which carried 
the water from the tender to the locomotive boiler, and 
the passengers were obliged to seek the Delaware House 
for shelter and refreshments. They were greatly aston- 
ished at the work accomplished by the fire fighters, with- 
out the aid of a fire engine. The roofs of the store prop- 
erty at the corner of Mill and Radcliffe Streets, adjoining 
the burning l)ui]flings and the Delaware ITouse were cov- 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 20/ 

ered with frozen snow and slush, which prevented them 
from catching" fire. 

The steamboat. Thomas A. Morgan, which made daily 
trips to and from Philadelphia, was lying at the Mill 
Street wharf, and when the fire broke out Captain Jona- 
than Cone sent her over to Burlington for a fire engine. 
The Burlington firemen very kindly responded and came 
over with the old Fulton hand engine, not being in pos- 
session of a steamer. The engine was placed on the for- 
ward deck of the steamboat and the manhole plate on the 
Morgan's boiler removed and the suction pipe run into 
the hot water in the boiler. The fire hose was run up the 
hill to the fire and the water turned on, but the cold was 
so intense that the hose was frozen stifT, rendering it 
useless. All the men did noble work, however, and 
finally the fire was extinguished. During the fire some 
one broke into Nathan Tyler's store cellar, at the corner 
of Mill and Radclifife Streets, and carried off hams and 
other provisions. 

A few days after the fire a meeting of citizens was 
called and Fire Company No. i was organized. It was 
also decided to place an order for a fire engine and to 
purchase the ground upon which the present fire house 
now stands. The builders of the new engine kindly 
loaned the company a second hand engine to use until 
the new one was completed. 

A Singular Accident. — Away back in the fifties of the 
last century a singular railroad accident occurred at the 
Bristol station. The old freight depot, which stood on 
Pond Street, was used in those days as a sort of round- 
house and train shed. In close ])roximity to the southern 
end of the freight station stood a frame dwelling house 
occupied by William Stewart and his family. At a point 
opposite Mulberry Street, was a turn-table and the cars 
which entered the freight house, ran over this turntable. 
On the day when the accident occurred a passenger coach 
was standing in the freight house. Through the negli- 
gence of some one, the switch was left open and an ex- 
press train coming down from Trenton, ran through the 
open switch, crossed the turn-table and entering the 



208 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

freight house, struck the passenger coach which had been 
stored therein, with such foce as to drive its end through 
the wall of the building, across the open space and 
through the side of the Stewart dwelling. When the car 
stopped, its forward end hung suspended over the table 
Avhcre the Stewart family were eating their dinner. No 
one in the Steward home was injured, although Mrs. 
Steward sufifered severely from shock. The fireman and 
greaser of the express train, however, were seriously 
injured, both of whom sufifered the amputation of a foot. 

County Elections. — The elections for county ofificers 
were held at Bristol until the county seat was removed 
to Newtown, in 1725, when they were changed to the 
latter place and continued there for many years. The 
first division of the county into election districts was by 
the court in 1742, but no places were fixed for the polls. 
Bristol, Falls and Middletown formed the first district. 
The county was divided into two election districts by 
the act of June 14th, 1777. Bristol was included in the 
second district and the elections were held at Newtown. 
In 1794, for the greater convenience of the voters the 
county was divided into five election districts. Bristol, 
Falls and Bensalem comprised the fifth district and the 
elections were held in the old court house, on Cedar 
Street, Bristol. By 1818 all the townships in the county 
had become separate election districts, with the exception 
of Bristol Township and Borough, whose elections were 
held in the old court house. 

Caleb N. Taylor, of Bristol Township, Only Delegate 
From Pennsylvania, Who Voted for Abraham Lincoln, 
in the Republican National Convention of i860. — At the 
centennial anniversary celebration of the birth of Abra- 
ham Lincoln, held in the Colonial Theatre, February 12, 
1909, by the school children of Bristol Borough, Charles 
E. Scott, the cashier of the Farmers' National Bank, in 
an address, told how in i860, Caleb N. Taylor, of Bristol 
Townshi]), went as a delegate to the National convention 
in Chicago and was the only one of all the Pennsylvania 
delegation who refused to be tied 1)y the unit rule and 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 209 

would not vote for Simon Cameron for President, but 
cast his vote for Abraham Lincohi, who was eventually 
nominated. 

Mr. Scott said in part: "There is a historical incident 
of much local interest connected with the anniversary 
we are celebrating today, of which probably not a half- 
dozen persons in this building are aware, and most of 
those who knew of it have forgotten long ago ; but I want 
to transmit it to you, young people, that you may not 
only bear it in mind as a matter of local pride, but that 
it may lead you to take a greater interest in each recur- 
ring anniversary of our martyred president, Avhen you 
know that you have a peculiar right to do so. 

■'Do 3'ou know that this town and Township of Bristol, 
in this County of Bucks, is the only spot in all the State 
of Pennsylvania that can most fitly commemorate the 
birth of President Lincoln? When the Chicago conven- 
tion met in i860, to choose a nominee for the presidency 
of these United States, Caleb N. Taylor, of Bristol Town- 
ship — and I might say of Bristol Borough, for he was 
the largest holder of real estate in the borough ; after- 
wards president of our Bristol bank and our member of 
Congress — was selected as delegate from this Congres- 
sional District, then embracing the counties of Bucks and 
Lehigh. It was afterwards formed from Bucks County 
and the Twenty-third ward of Philadelphia, and was not, 
as at present, composed of Bucks and Montgomery coun- 
ties. His alternate being a gentleman from Lehigh Coun- 
ty, who could not attend the convention, Benjamin J. 
Taylor, of Bristol, was appointed alternate in his stead, 
and accompanied Mr. Taylor to Chicago. 

"When our delegate arrived in Chicago, he was 
attracted by a man of thoroughly western characteristics, 
who was looked up to by his fellows as a born leader; as 
a man of excellent judgment and considerable attain- 
ments. This man was Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, and 
a number of delegates intended to place his name before 
the convention. After personally judging of his qualifi- 
cations, and diligent inquiry as to the outlook, for Mr. 
Taylor was a thorf)ugh investigator, and never went into 
anything blind, whether in politics or business, he de- 



2TO 



A HISTORY OF liKISTOL liOKorGH. 



cided to vote for him when a ballot should be taken, and 
did so from first to last ; the entire balance of the dele- 
gation casting" their votes for Simon Cameron, of Penn- 
sylvania, though knowing full well that Cameron had 
not a ghost of a chance to succeed. 

"Therefore, I say, that this is the only spot in this 
whole state that was honored by having one of its citi- 
zens among the foremost in placing Lincoln's name be- 
fore the people of the United States for election to that 
hieh office." 




A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 211 



EPOCH VII. 



PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



Lincoln Greeted by Bristolians. — February 21st, 1861, 
was a day long to be remembered in Bristol. President- 
elect Abraham Lincoln had left his western home a few 
days before, and started on his long journey to Washing- 
ton, via New York, Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Balti- 
more. The news had reached Bristol that Mr. Lincoln 
was in New York and would pass through here in the 
afternoon en route to Philadelphia. A large crowd gath- 
ered at the station and to their great surprise the train 
stopped at the depot. Surging around the rear platform 
of the last car, in which Mr. Lincoln and his family were 
riding, they made the welkin ring with their cheers for 
the new president. As the tall form of Lincoln appeared 
in the doorway, Frank Woodington, Sr., bounded up the 
steps of the car, and grasping the President's hand said : 
"Mr. Lincoln, when you get to be President, enforce the 
laws." Lincoln gave Woodington's hand a hearty shake 
and said : "That I will try to do, my friend." Wooding- 
ton was followed by a colored man and lastly by Gilbert 
Tomlinson. The train was moving as the latter gentle- 
man sprang to the ground, but Lincoln stood in the door- 
way waving his hand to the cheering crowd, until he 
disappeared from view. 

A Bristol Girl Unfurls First Confederate Flag. — In an 

old scrap bof)k belonging to Charles M. Foster, was found 
the following newspaper clipping, which shows that Miss 
Tyler, a daughter of Robert Tyler, who for many years 
was a prominent resident of Bristol, but who at the 



212 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

breaking out of the Civil War, left the town and cast his 
lot with the South, was accorded the much to be regretted 
privilege of unfurling the first Confederate Flag: 

"At a little after noon yesterday," says the Montgomery 
(Alabama) Advertiser, of the 6th instant (1861), "the 
Congress adopted a flag for the Confederacy, which may 
be described thus : Three bars, each in width, one-third 
of the de[)th of the flag; the upper and lower bars red, 
and the middle one white; a blue field in the upper left- 
hand corner, with seven stars in a circle. The secretary 
of the Congress was ordered to have a flag prepared and 
hoisted on the Capitol immediately ; and under the direc- 
tion of Commander Ingraham, and assisted by Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Sayre, late of the United States Marine 
Corps, the ensign of the Federation was prepared and 
ready for hoisting by a little before 4 o'clock P. M., when 
it was run up by ^liss Tyler (a granddaughter of ex- 
President Tyler), in the presence of a considerable crowd. 
The Blues saluted the flag with seven guns, and Mr. 
Canning's fine band from the theatre, furnished excellent 
music for the occasion." 

Bristol's Patriotism at Sumter's Fall. — Our fellow- 
townsman, Charles M. Foster contributes this interesting 
article, in which he tells of that memorable day in Bristol, 
Avhen on the morning news was received of the surrender 
of Fort Sumter, the people gave expression to their 
patriotic feelings by displaying flags : 

"April 14, 1861, was a memorable day in Bristol. I 
was employed by my father, James V. Foster, in the retail 
dry goods and grocery business at No. 33 Mill Street. 
At that time my father was serving as a juryman in the 
United States Court at Philadelphia. T had been reading 
every day with much interest of the conduct of the seces- 
sionists in the South, and the attack on Fort Sumter and 
the Steamer. Star of the West, which had been sent with 
supplies for Major Anderson. 

"Being extra busy on account of father's absence, I had 
not looked over the morning paper, but on going out on 
the pavement and looking across the river towards Bur- 
lington, I saw the large flag flying from the Beldin Hotel, 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 213 

and knew it meant something out of the ordinary, as flags 
were not numerous and not often displayed except on 
Independence Day, Washington's birthday, and during 
political campaigns. As I stood looking at the flag, 
James S. Fine came along, and drawing his attention to 
it, I asked him if he knew what it meant. He replied : 
'Yes, have you not read the morning papers yet? Major 
Anderson has been compelled to surrender Fort Sumter 
to the rebels, and people all over the land are showing 
their patriotism by displaying the stars and stripes.' 

"My young heart was stirred with the news which I 
had heard and immediately going to the housetop, flung 
my flag to the breeze. At that time few flags were owned 
by Bristol people and on national holidays but two were 
to be seen, the one on the Delaware House and the other 
my own. Charles E. Scott, who is cashier of the Farm- 
ers' National Bank, had erected a nice flag staff on his 
father's store on Radcliffe Street, and was the first man 
to unfurl his flag on that memorable morning and I was 
the next. We were followed by Lewis F. Pratt, proprie- 
tor of the Delaware House, and Henry G. Booz, who 
resided at the corner of Cedar and Walnut Streets. Then 
flags were swung across the streets by Captain James 
McClain, of Franklin Street, and AVilliam H. White, of 
Bath vStreet. 

'"The demand for flags became so great that I was kept 
busy for several days giving information how to make 
them and to rig poles for their display, which information 
it was a great pleasure for me to give. The larger cities 
were unable to supply the demand for bunting and other 
material was brought into use. Samuel Cabeen, of the 
firm of Bostwick & Cabeen, whose place of business was 
at the corner of Mill and Pond Streets, purchased a lot 
of red, Avhite and blue delaine which made very handsome 
flags. A fine one of that material, twelve by eighteen 
feet, was soon displayed from the roof of their building. 
One of the same dimensions was displayed from a high 
pole on the cupola of Dorrance & Doran's flour mill. W. 
H. H. Fine's Hotel at the corner of Mill and Bath Streets 
run up a fourteen-foot flag. W. H. Evans swung a nice 
twelAC-foot flag across the street from his store, corner 



214 A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

of Mill and Wood Streets. The employees of W. K. 
Kelly's iron foundry, on Wood Street, purchased a flag 
for their building. The scholars of the Wood Street 
and Otter Street public schools collected money for flags, 
which were displayed from staffs on each of the buildings, 

"On April i8, 1861, a mast and topmast, 115 feet high, 
was erected at the intersection of Mill and RadclifTe 
Streets, and a handsome flag twenty by thirty-six feet 
was unfurled to the breeze with appropriate ceremonies, 
the Rev. P. J. Cox, of the Wood Street M. E. Church, 
making the presentation speech. The day was bright and 
very warm, with a fine southerly breeze. This was fol- 
lowed by a sudden rain and wind storm from the West 
and before the flag, which a few minutes before had been 
unfurled with loud cheers and hurrahs, could be hauled 
down, the wind tore out the top of the pole where the 
halyards were fastened, and the flag thus released, was 
carried over the Delaware House towards the river. The 
lower end of the flag, however, still clung to the halyards, 
and it was promptly secured without further damage. 
The next day it was floating as proudly as ever in the 
breeze. 

"Mrs. Lewis T. Pratt, who stood by, remarked it was 
rather a bad omen, indicating a severe struggle, but as 
the flag was not lost, its enemies would finally be de- 
feated and the flag and nation preserved. 

"The flag continued to fly nearly every day and was 
allowed to wear away without being repaired, so that in 
three years there was little left of it except the union. It 
was finally loaned to an entertainment out of Bristol and 
was never returned. I forgot to mention that the flag 
was made by Mrs. Hal Martin and other ladies of the 
town, each star bearing the name of the person who made 
it. The mast and flag were both paid for by patriotic 
citizens of Bristol and vicinity. 

"Toward the close of the war, when the fall of Rich- 
mond seemed certain. Mrs. Cornelius C. Pratt, aided by 
cithers, collected $too by subscription and purchased a 
new flag, twenty by thirty feet, and placed it in charge 
of a committee consisting of John H. Jones, Charles H. 
Pratt and myself, with positive orders not to loan it, but 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 215 

to use it only for national purposes. These instructions 
were strictly adhered to, except on the occasion of the 
two-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the city of 
Burlington, when it was promptly returned in g-ood 
condition. 

"The mast was struck by lightning during the summer 
of 1879, on the 4th day of August, and so badly damaged 
that it was cut down. The flag was placed in the custody 
of H. Clay Beatty Post, No. 73, G. A. R. I find there were 
a few others who displayed the flag during those exciting 
days which followed the surrender of Fort Sumter, name- 
ly : C. C. Douglass' stove and tin store on Mill Street, S. 
S. Rue, on Wood Street ; John Dorrance, on Radclifife 
Street ; Captain Burnett Landreth, at Bloomsdale ; Cap- 
tain Jackson, on Pond Street; J. W. Hall, on Wood 
Street; J. H. Chambers, on Mill Street; J. Merrick 
Brown, corner of Market and Pond Streets ; John Wright, 
Mill Street, near canal, Robert C. Beatty, on Radclifife 
Street. Captain Joseph H. Hutchinson, on Beaver Street, 
erected a high mast and topmast on his lawn, the flag 
when run to the top, being seen for several miles around. 
A large and beautiful flag made of flannel was swung 
from the store of John Davis across Radclifife Street, near 
the Hollow Bridge. Many other citizens, imbued with 
feelings of patriotism, displayed smaller flags from the 
windows of their dwellings. 

"Thus was the spark of patriotism ignited in this 
locality, by the firing of the first gun in the Civil War; 
a patriotism that sent our brave men to the front when 
Lincoln called for aid ; a patriotism that sustained them 
during those bloody years of warfare ; that sent many of 
them to martyrs' graves, cheering the old flag; that 
enabled men like Michael Dougherty to withstand the 
horrors of Confedei-ate hell holes, like Libby and Ander- 
sonville prisons; that made heroes like Henry Clay 
Beatty; that brought desolation to many homes; but 
through it all a patriotism that rose above partisanship, 
and with but one thought, that of preserving the integrity 
of the nation, gave to our town a long list of noble 
patriots, whose names we honor and whose memory will 
never fade." 



2l6 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Young America Aroused. — The spirit of patriotism 
aroused by the fall of Fort Sumter, affected even the chil- 
dren of the town, and they were not slow in giving public 
expression to their patriotic feelings. On Monday, April 
29, the children of Public Schools Nos. i and 2, made an 
effective display, in a juvenile parade, with banners bear- 
ing appropriate mottoes, displayed in their ranks. The 
ceremonies commenced by unfurling to the l^reeze, at 
School House No. i, a beautiful American flag, 8 by 12 
feet, when J. Magill, Esq.. was called to the stand and 
delivered a patriotic address, the ceremonies closing by 
the children uniting in singing the Star-Spangled Banner. 

The young cavalcade, with their superiors, then re- 
paired to School House No. 2, where a similar flag was 
raised and addresses delivered by Amos Rriggs, Esq., 
Colonel Montgomery and Caleb N. Taylor, Esq., closing 
witli three cheers for the Stars and Stripes. Thus, by 
the patriotic fervt)r of childhood, was fuel added to the 
already glowing fires of patriotism. 

Patriotic Enthusiasm. — Before the flag was lowered on 
Fort Sumter, a company roll call for the formation of an 
infantry corps was opened in Bristol by Wesley M. Lee, 
Esq., and on the day preceding the fall of Sumter, thir- 
teen able-bodied men had signed the call for volunteers. 
A meeting was held in the town hall on the evening of 
April 13, 1861, at 7:30 o'clock, at which time contribu- 
tions amounting to v$ioo were pledged, and others con- 
jointly promised that $1,000 should be raised. The com- 
pany, when organized, was to be drilled by Colonel W. 
1\. \Iontgomery, a resident of the town. 

Then followed the surrender of Fort Sumter and the 
old town was on fire with patriotism. The drum and fife 
were heard in the streets by day and night. To the credit 
of the town, the muster roll of the company then forming 
soon reached eighty, nearly all of whom were young men. 
A few of the citizens, with praiseworthy consideration, 
resolved to give encouragement to the patriotic move- 
ment by at once starting a subscription for the purpose 
of clothing these volunteers and sustaining their families 
in their absence — a considerable sum was immediately 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 21/ 

raised. The work of preparing flannel underclothes was 
commenced by some forty ladies, in the basement of the 
Presbyterian Church. The Masonic Fraternity promptly 
offered the spacious lower room of their handsome hall, 
to the new company, as a place for drill, and there, three 
times a day, the men assembled for that purpose. 
Colonel Montgomery took a great interest in the com- 
pany, and was busily employed day and night, in making 
them familiar with the manual of arms. 

About the first of May the enrolled men went by rail 
to Philadelphia for inspection, and with the exception of 
three, who were struck off, passed a most satisfactory 
and commendable inspection. It was intimated that they 
might look forward to being accepted as a part of Penn- 
sylvania's reserve force under command of Colonel Wm. 
Mann. The enrollment of the company was augmented 
by the signing of several recruits from Tullytown. An 
election was held, according to military rule, and William 
Kinsey, Robert Patterson and John Dorrance were duly 
sworn and affirmed as an election board, by Jos. B. Pen- 
nington, Esq. W. S. Thompson was unanimously 
elected captain, H. Clay Beatty, first lieutenant, 
and S. J. La Rue, second lieutenant. The company was 
named the "Montgomery Guards of Bristol," in honor of 
their fellow citizen. Colonel Wm. R. Montgomery. 

Subsequently the ladies of Bristol presented to the 
Montgomery Guards a suit of silk colors, to be carried 
with them to the tented field. The Rev. Cox, pastor of 
the Bristol M. E. Church, made the presentation speech, 
Avhich was highly patriotic. Lieutenant H. Clay Beatty 
accepted the colors in behalf of the company in a neat and 
pertinent speech, glowing with patriotism. A revolver 
was presented to Captain Thompson, and also to First 
Lieutenant H. Clay Beatty, and Second Lieutenant S. J. 
La Rue; each of the gentlemen replied in appropriate 
terms. 

By the time the company was fully equipped, drilled 
and ready for service, the women of Bristol had made 
358 substantial woolen garments. Among those active in 
the work was an honored matron of 84, ]\Irs. Mary Street, 
also another, nearly as far advanced, Mrs. Rebecca James, 
who with equal zeal, embarked in the labor of love. 



2l8 A HISTORY OF ]!KISTOIv 150ROUGII. 

Sword Presentation. — Soon after the formation of the 
AIontij;oniery Guards, ^^'illianl Kinsey, Esq., made a loan 
presentation to Captain Thompson, of the handsome 
sword and sash formerly in the possession of his son, 
Lieutenant Samuel Kinsey, deceased, attached to the 
United States Artillery Corps. The friends of Lieutenant 
Samuel J. La Rue, a few weeks later presented him with 
a handsome sword ; and subsequently a superb sword 
and belt costing $30, was presented to Lieutenant H. C. 
Beatty, by his personal friends of Bristol. The presenta- 
tion was made on the part of the donors, at the Masonic 
Hall, by the Rev. P. J. Cox, of the M. E. Church. 

The Montgomery Guards Inspected. — This fine body 
of our citizen soldiery, who at the time of their informal 
inspection on the i8th ult., to be mustered into Colonel 
Mann's regiment, attracted marked encomiums for their 
soldiery appearance, again repaired to Philadelphia on 
Wednesday, May 29, 1861, leaving Bristol on board the 
Steamer Warner, and on arriving in the city marched to 
the rendezvous, Girard House, for inspection. The com- 
pany numbered 88, including the officers — and were fully 
inspected by Dr. H. H. Smith. Seven were rejected for 
want of height, two for other causes, and one after in- 
spection declined serving for the full term of three years 
or during the war. With these exceptions the company 
passed an acceptable inspection. 

The company then returned to ]_h-istol, with orders to 
hold themselves in readiness to proceed to Camp Wash- 
ington, at Easton, to join the nine companies under com- 
mand of Colonel Wm. B. Mann, which had preceded 
them, where the regiment Avas to be instructed in the 
school of the soldier by well disciplined officers and 
teachers. 

The Montgomery Guards left on Saturday, June i, 
1861, at 7:50 A. M., by way of the C. & A. and B. D. 
Railroad for Easton ; but no arms or accoutrements were 
furnished to the company before their arrival at the camp. 
(Bache's Index.) 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 219 

Bristol's Three Military Companies. — During the Civil 
War, Bristol raised three military companies, one of 
which fought through the war from 1861-65, making an 
honorable record. 

Company I (Alontgomery Guards), Third Regiment 
Pennsylvania Reserves, of Bristol, was recruited during 
the month of April, 1861, by Captain W. S. Thompson, a 
veteran of the Mexican War. Upon his promotion to 
lieutenant-colonel. First Lieutenant Henry C. Beatty was 
elected captain. He was killed in August, 1862, at the 
second battle of Bull Run, Samuel J. La Rue becoming 
captain and Samuel Beatty, first lieutenant. During the 
term of service, nine men of the company were killed 
outright, and eight died of wounds and disease. 

On the 15th of April, 1861, President Lincoln issued a 
proclamation calling upon the Northern States for 75,000 
men for ninety days, the quota of Pennsylvania being 
16,000. Steps were immediately taken in Bristol to form 
a company, but before it was accomplished the state 
quota was filled. 

There being several thousand Pennsylvanians re- 
cruited in excess of the quota, Governor Curtin was 
authorized by an act of the Legislature, dated May 15th, 
1861, to organize a State Military Corps, to be called the 
Reserve Volunteer Corps of Pennsylvania, composed of 
thirteen regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, 
and one regiment of light artillery. The volunteers were 
assembled during the last weeks of May in several camps 
of instruction, where they were formed into regiments. 

The Bristol Company was assigned to the Third Regi- 
ment of Reserves, of which N. G. Sickles Avas elected 
colonel, and William S. Thompson, captain of the Bristol 
Company, was elected lieutenant-colonel. 

After serving for about two months in the state service, 
the regiment was ordered to Washington, arriving there 
on the evening of July 25th, and was mustered into the 
United States service on the 27th of July. Its first en- 
gagement was at Dranesville, on the 20th of October. 

The regiment, after participating in the Peninsular 
Campaign, was moved up to Manassas to support Gen- 
eral Pope, where it was in action at Gainesville and Sec- 
15 



220 A HISTORY ()!• I'.KrSTOI, liOROUGH. 

ond Bull Run, and afterwards took part in the Antietam 
campaign. Following this, the regiment participated in 
the attack on Fredericksburg, and the campaign in West 
Virginia, under General Crook. The regiment was mus- 
tered out of service in July, 1864. 

Company I, Seventeenth Regiment, Reynold's Division 
of Pennsylvania Militia, was organized in 1862, and 
Burnet Landreth was elected captain. The company, 
as originally organized, numbered sixty men. The fol- 
lowing is a brief history of the object of the formation 
and story of the short service of the militia of 1862 : 

On the loth of September, the rebels having crossed 
to the northern bank of the Potomac, Governor Curtin, 
of Pennsylvania, authorized by President Lincoln and 
General Orders No. 35 and 36, called for 50,000 men. 
Two provisional regiments of militia went forward next 
day, followed up by others as organized. Fifteen regi- 
ments, ten days later, were concentrated at Hagerstown, 
Maryland, ten regiments at Boonsboro, and the other 
twenty-five regiments were on the march, or in state of 
preparation, making 50.000 men in all, constituting what 
was officially termed the Militia Division. This was 
commanded by Major-General John F. Reynolds, who 
was detached from the second corps of the Army of the 
Potomac to mould the new force into shape. 

The battle of Boonsboro was fought on the 14th of 
September, and the battle of Antietam was fought on the 
i6th and 17th. By the 19th the rebels had retreated to 
Virginia. On the 24th orders were issued for the dis- 
charge of the militia after two weeks' service. Because 
of the retreat of the rebel army, none of the militia force 
was called upon to go into action, but it was a narrow 
pinch, as, had the Northern Army failed to have stopped 
thp rebels' advance the militia would ha\e gotten into it 
with both feet. 

In a letter addressed to Governor Curtin by General Mc- 
Clellan, thanking the Governor of Pennsylvania for his 
energetic action in calling out the militia and placing 
them in the field, McClellan adds: "Fortunately circum- 
stances render it imi^o^siblc for the .\rmy to set foot 
upon the soil of l^ennsyh'ania, but tlic moral support 




CAPTAIN BURNET LANDRETH. 



A HISTORY Of BRISTOL BOROUGH. 221 

rendered the army was none the less mighty. In the 
name of the Army and for myself, I again tender you an 
acknowledgment for your patriotic cause. The manner 
in which the people responded to the call no doubt exer- 
cised a great influence upon the enemy." 

These 50,000 militia were not mustered into the United 
States service or the State service. There was no time 
to spend over the formalities of muster, the men were 
wanted too quickly, wanted to make a demonstration, 
and were accepted on the enrollment lists of the captains. 
Nearly two years later the captains were sent pay rolls in 
quadruple, on which were made out the names of their 
men, who, on the second of June, 1864, were paid by the 
clerks of Colonel B. W. Bruce, United States Paymaster, 
of the District of Baltimore. 

Company G, Forty-third Regiment, Pennsylvania 
Xinety-Day Volunteer Militia, in 1863; Third Brigade, 
Franklyn's Second Division, Dana's, Couch's Army of 
the Susquehanna, was organized by the selection of Bur- 
net Landreth, captain. Following is a brief history of 
some incidents connected with the formation and services 
of the company. 

On the 9th of June, Secretary of War Stanton created 
two new military departments. First, that of the Sus- 
quehanna, under Major-General Darius N. Couch, trans- 
ferred from the second corps, this department compre- 
hending everything in Eastern Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land, north of the Potomac ; second, that of the Monon- 
gahela, under Major-General W. T. Brooks, comprehend- 
ing Western Pennsylvania, Western Virginia and part of 
Ohio. Preparations were immediately made to organize 
army corps for these two new divisions. 

On the 15th of June, President Lincoln called for 100,- 
000 men to serve for six months, but enlistments were 
slow. The people seemed to doubt if the rebels really 
intended to invade the North, but on the 24th and 25th 
of June the entire rebel army crossed the Potomac. On 
the 26th of June. Governor Curtin, with the approval of 
President Lincoln, and under General Order No. 43, 
issued a proclamation calling for 60,000 men for ninety 
days. To this call thirty-eight regiments of infantrv. 



222 A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

three troops of calvary, and ten batteries of artillery were 
brigaded, principally in the district of General Sigel. 
Of these men 31,000 were assigned to the Army 
of the Susquehanna, and 5,000 to the Army of the 
IMonongahela. One-half of the entire force were men 
who had already seen service in the field. In addition to 
the 31,000 Pennsylvanians in the Army of the Susque- 
hanna, were 6,000 men from New York and 500 from 
New Jersey. 

In the Department of the Susquehanna only one regi- 
ment of the ninety-day men came in contact with the 
enemy, this being the Twenty-seventh, under Colonel 
Frick, who lost nine men in the defense of Columbia 
bridge on the 24th of June. The other regiments were 
formed too late to be of any use at Gettysburg, but had 
Lee after Gettysburg, made a stand at Williamsport 
Ford, then the ninety-day men would have been put into 
the game. The rebels recrossed the Potomac on the 13th 
and 14th of July. 

Part of the ninety-day men were distributed along the 
banks of the Potomac from Harper's Ferry up to Cum- 
berland, others relieved men of the Sixth corps, in charge 
of prisoners, while others were sent into the coal regions 
of Pennsylvania to quell a threatened insurrection. The 
Forty-third was stationed along the Potomac near Dam 
No. 5, not far from Williamsport Ford, special care being 
given to the preservation of the canal locks, Avhich it was 
thought the rebels might destroy. 

In the Monongahela district three of the ninet3''-day 
regiments were very active in the ten-day chase and final 
cai)ture, near Wheeling, W. Va., on the 24th, of the 
rebel leader, Morgan, who. Avith 2.000 horsemen raided 
across the State of Ohio. 

The Forty-third Regiment, numbering 931 men, was 
one of the six forming the Third Brigade, Second Divi- 
sion of Couch's Corps. The Regiment was commanded 
by Colonel ^^^ W. Scott, formerly a ca])tain in the Twen- 
ty-fourth Pennsyh'ania. Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold, 
]\Iaior Petrican, and Adjutant Newlin were all ex-officers 
of the -Army of the Potomac, and all had been wounded. 

The r.ristol Com])any. designated as "G," or the ninth 



A HISTORY OI' BRISTOL BOROUGH. 223 

company, numbering" eighty-two men, furnished two offi- 
cers for the regimental staff, Assistant Surgeons Potts 
and Ward, and Quartermaster Harrison, also Drum 
Major Pettit, and Fife Major Harkins. The captain of 
Company G was elected major, but declined in favor of 
the next highest candidate, who was a veteran officer of 
the Army of the Potomac. The company included twen- 
ty-four veterans of the Army of the Potomac, one lieuten- 
ant, three sergeants, two corporals and nineteen privates. 
Some companies of the regiment were nearly altogether 
veterans. 

Company G contained many representative citizens 
of the town of Bristol, and County of Bucks, and some 
wealthy men. Of these the most picturesque individu^al, 
and only privileged character, w^as the Hon. Caleb N. 
Taylor, who held a pass from Secretary of War Stanton, 
which document gave him passage through any line of 
the Army of the Potomac. He would disappear for days 
at a time and return with a wagon load of provisions, 
which were for every man as was the contents of his 
pocketbook. 

Company G included two commissioned officers, four 
non-commissioned officers and seven privates, who had 
the previous year, served in Company i, Seventeenth 
Militia. In fact. Company G grew out of Company I, as 
the latter company, by frequent drills, had been kept 
together, the officers having been mustered and commis- 
sioned for two years in the State service. All the regi- 
ments of the ninety-day men were well armed, uniformed 
and organized, and if they had been put on the firing line, 
would have done as well as any other half-green force. 

Eight of the thirty-eight regiments were mustered into 
the service of the United States, but thirty other regi- 
ments doing the same duty outside the borders of the 
States of Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia, served 
along under State muster. 

After the thirty State mustered regiments were dis- 
charged from State service, it was proposed to muster in 
to the United States service and muster out companies 
rolls, so regular United States discharges could be given, 
but in the rush of military business during war times 



224 -^ HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

this was never done. The men, however, by order of the 
Pension Bureau, were given a "pensionable status," and 
three men of Company G obtained pensions for injuries 
received while on duty. 

All the ofificers and men of this regiment were mus- 
tered in and mustered out of the State service, but they 
were all sworn into the service of the United States, 
from which to this day they have never been released. 
(From writings of Captain Burnet Landreth, Sr.) 

The Ladies' Aid Society of St. James' P. E. Church. — 

Immediately after the battle of Hull Run, in 1861, the 
ladies of St. James' Protestant Episcopal Church, organ- 
ized what was known for four years subsequently as 
"The Ladies' Aid Society," founded for the collection of 
clothing and delicacies for the soldiers at the front. This 
Society, though started in the Episcopal Church, was 
greatly augmented by the women of other congregations 
of the town, their united efforts resulting in the dispatch- 
ing of an. enormous quantity of underclothing sent prin- 
cipally to the United States Hospital at Point Lookout, 
Md., which was in charge of Surgeon Stonelake, once a 
resident of Bristol. Mrs. David Landreth was president 
of the Society for the four years of its operation. These 
ladies received hundreds of the most pathetic letters of 
thanks from wounded soldiers, both Union and Rebel. 
(Contributed by Captain Burnet Landreth.) 

Captain Henry Clay Beatty. — Captain Henry Clay 
Beatty was the son of Robert C. Beatty, a former cashier 
of the Farmers' National Bank of Bucks County. He 
commenced the study of law with the late Anthony 
Swain, a prominent member of the Bucks County bar, in 
1854, and finished his course in the law office of Charles 
Gibbons, of Philadelphia, in the early part of 1857. He 
took his degree in the Law School of the University of 
Pennsylvania soon afterward. Mr. Gibbons, speaking of 
him after his death, said: "He was an earnest and in- 
dustrious student, and at the time of his admission to the 
Bar was well read in the law. He remained with me as 
long as he practiced his profession, to which he was 
almost entirely devoted, and in which he was eminently 




CAPTAIN HENRY CLAY BEATTY. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 225 

successful. He loved the truth, and no one ever found 
him a hair's breadth out of its latitude or longitude under 
any circumstances." 

When the call was made by our state authorities for 
the fifteen regiments known as the Pennsylvania Re- 
serves, Mr. Beatt}^ volunteered his services for the war 
and received a lieutenant's commission in Company I of 
the Third Regiment. Captain Thompson, who then com- 
manded that company, was elected lieutenant colonel of 
the regiment, and Mr. Beatty was promoted to the cap- 
taincy^ which he held at the time of his death. He was 
with the Reserves in all their toilsome and suiTering 
experiences, and at the battles before Richmond where, 
thrice deciminated by disease, they covered themselves 
with glory. During the first day's battle Captain Beatty 
was in the hospital, where he had been confined by an 
exhaustive sickness for some days. But weak and wasted 
as he was, he left his bed and was at the head of his 
company in all the battles that followed except the last 
one. 

At the battle of White Oak Swamp he received a ball 
in the leg, early in the action, but, debilitated and wound- 
ed as he was, he remained on the field at his post of duty 
until the end of the battle. On the next day, having 
reached the James River, he went down to Fortress Mon- 
roe, had the ball extracted from his leg and, declining to 
remain in the hospital, immediately rejoined his regi- 
ment. He was, however, in no condition for active serv- 
ice, and was sent home on furlough to recruit his health. 
He spent a short time with his family in Bristol, and be- 
fore the expiration of his furlough returned to report 
himself for duty. 

On the day after he left Philadelphia to rejoin his 
regiment his uncle, Robert B. Cabeen, placed in the 
hands of his law instructor, Charles Gibbons, Esq., an 
open letter, addressed to Governor Curtin, from Colonel 
Sickles, who commanded the regiment. It was a volun- 
tary testimonial of the heroic courage, soldierly bearing 
and high military ability displayed by Captain Beatty 
during the disastrous retreat of the army. And it con- 
tained a recommendation to the Governor for his promo- 



22() . A HISTORY OF I!RISTOI< P.OKC )L'C.H. 

tion to the colonelcy of one of the new regiments called 
for from Pennsylvania. 

Captain Beatty was wounded in the second battle of 
Bull Run, near Manassas. He was struck by an almost 
spent conical ball about eight inches long, doubtlessly 
fired from a rifle of three-inch bore. The ball struck the 
ground about forty yards distant, rebc^unded, struck a 
man in Company D in the head, killing him, and then 
struck Captain Beatty, breaking his arm in two places 
and wounding his hand. He did not have his wound 
dressed until the next day, when his arm was amputated 
at the shoulder. It is said that when Captain Beatty fell, 
his brother, who was a lieutenant in Company I, rushed 
to his side, but with that unselfish devotion to country 
which characterizes a hero, he ordered him back to his 
company. He considered duty to country as paramount 
to his own sufferings, and by that patriotic action gave 
to Bristol a hero, whose memory can never die. After 
his arm was amputated he was sent to Washington, but 
died on board the steamboat on the way up the river from 
Alexandria. He had partaken of some soup which he 
relished and spoke of feeling better. His comrade left 
him for a few moments, and on his return found him 
sinking, and in ten minutes he was dead. Charles Carlin, 
of the same company, was wounded while in the act of 
carrying his much loved captain from the field. Captain 
Beatty's remains were brought to Bristol and interred in 
St. James' burial ground. 

Subsequent to his death and burial, the following poem 
appeared in the Bucks County Intelligencer, dated Aug- 
ust 23, 1862. The name of the writer is not given, but 
simply his initials, "S. S." 

Harry Beatty. 

Captain of Company i, Third Pennsylvania Reserves. 

Fallen in battle! my brave friend, 

Warm tears from faithful eyes 
Bedew that grave where lulled to sleep 

Thy wounded body lies. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 227 

Youth, fame, ambition — all were laid 

On thy dear country's shrine — 
A future proud with promised glory 

Closed in that battle line. 

A mind clear as this autumn moon — 

A heart warm as its sun, 
Have done what sternest duty asked — 

Toiled and suffered and — gone. 

So many brave and stalwart arms 

Have palsied in the fray — 
So crowded moved and long procession 

Of heroes passing away. 

That darker seemed our country's woe. 

And deeper sighed the breeze 
On that sad day we laid thy form 

Beneath St. James' trees. 

Thy martyr dust is sacred now, 

xAnd coming years will bless 
Thy place of rest, and its green mound 

With mutest reverence press. 

Yes, pilgrim feet will gather there, 

Oppression's crime to ban, 
And mark how green the laurels grow 

Above the truthful man. 

Thy heart twined closest with thy being 

Is worn and bruised indeed. 
And o'er thy doom and o'er its own 

Will lived and pitied, bleed. 

The shadow of thy loss will lay 

A cold and cheerless bar 
Athwart her faltering steps, illumed 

Only by memory's star. 

Farewell! with Flim who knows thy heart, 

Its longings, aims, and worth. 
We trust thee, and resume our march 

So soon to close on earth. 

We praise thee for thy generous daring. 

Thy scorn and selfish ease; 
We mourn thee for the love we bore thee, 

For thy loss in days like these! 



22S A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Commissioned Officers in Civil War. — Captain Bvirnet 
Laudreth contributes the following list of names and 
occupations of those Bristol men, recorded by him, with 
the assistance of Captain Strickland Yardley and Ser- 
geant Charles E. Scott, who served as officers in the 
Army and Xavy. 

From Captain Laudreth it has been learned that al- 
though at the outbreak of the war Bristol's population 
was less than 3,000, yet the town contributed one out of 
every seven of its entire population to the Army and 
Navy; to be exact, 493 soldiers and sailors. Such a total 
of enlistment of 493 gives force to the war poem : 

"We are coming Father Abraham, 
Six hundred thousand more." 

Among these, nearly 500 men, were the following 
forty-three, who were commissioned as officers on land 
or sea : 

Brigadier-General William H. Montgomery, of the 
First New Jersey Brigade ; West Point graduate. 

Colonel John M. Gosline, Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania ; 
lawyer. 

Colonel William R. Dickinson, New Jersey Cavalry; 
lawyer. 

Colonel and Surgeon Stonelake, commanding hospital 
at Point Lookout, Maryland ; doctor. 

Lieutenant-Colonel William S. Thompson, original 
Captain' First Bristol Company, Third F'ennsylvania Re- 
serves ; engineer Steamer Warner. 

Captain Henry Clay Beatty, second Captain Company 
I, Third Pennsylvania Reserves; lawyer. 

Captain Samuel J. La Rue, third captain Company i, 
Third Pennsylvania Reserves ; hotel man. 

Captain Strickland Yardley, Quartermaster Third 
Pennsylvania Reserves; storekeeper. 

Captain Oscar Vezin, Company H, Anderson Cavalry, 
Fifteenth Pennsylvania; student at "Bonn," Germany. 

Captain Alfred Vezin, Company C, Anderson Cavalry, 
Fifteenth Pennsylvania; banker. 

Captain Anthony Taylor, Company K, Anderson Cav- 
alry, Fifteenth Pennsylvania ; farmer. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 229 

Captain Richard Henry Morris, of Company K, Ninth 
New York ; merchant. 

Captain Burnet Landreth, Seventeenth and Firty-third 
Volunteer MiHtia ; farmer. 

Lieutenant Samuel Beatty, Company I, Third Re- 
serves ; clerk. 

Leituenant J. Hutchinson, Company I, Third Re- 
serves ; farmer. 

Lieutenant Frank McKean, Marine Corps, U. S. Navy; 
Annapolis man. 

Lieutenant Henry Montgomery, Company A. Thir- 
teenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, transferred to general 
staff; student. 

Lieutenant John Burton, Company C, Anderson Cav- 
alry, Fifteenth Pennsylvania ; farmer. 

Lieutenant John Rousseau, Sixth Regular Cavalry; 
clerk. 

Lieutenant Albert Booz, Company E, Eighty-eighth 
Pennsylvania Infantry ; farmer. 

Cadet William J. Hamilton, of the Regular Army; 
student West Point. 

Lieutenant Frank Sargent, New Jersey Regiment ; 
clerk. 

Lieutenant William Shewell, General Stafif ; merchant. 

Lieutenant B. F. Hibbs, Seventy-first Pennsylvania; 
clerk. 

Lieutenant William D. Baker, Seventeenth and Forty- 
third Militia, Landreth's Companies I and G; dentist. 

Lieutenant David H. Carter, of Forty-third Militia, 
Landreth's Company G; clerk. 

Lieutenant James W. Martin, of Seventeenth Militia, 
Landreth's Company I ; master carpenter. 

Lieutenant Jacob Hamilton, Company 1, Ninth Veter- 
an Reserves ; hotel man. 

Cadet Bloomfield Mcllvaine, U. S. Navy; student 
Annapolis. 

Lieutenant and Surgeon Potts, of the Forty-third 
Militia. Promoted from private, Landreth's Company; 
doctor. 

Lieutenant and Surgeon John Ward, Forty-third 



230 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Militia, promoted from corporal, Landreth's Company; 
doctor. 

Lieutenant and Regimental Quartermaster, Edmund 
G. Harrison, of the Forty-third Militia. Promoted from 
l)rivate, Landreth's Company ; doctor. 

Lieutenant and Surgeon John Downing, New York 
Regiment ; doctor. 

Lieutenantand Surgeon Thomas P. Tomlinson ; doctor. 

Lieutenant and Surgeon Rev. John H. Drumm ; doctor. 

Lieutenant and Assistant Surgeon Henry Dorrance ; 
doctor. 

Lieutenant and Second Assistant H. K. Prouse; doctor. 

Lieutenant and First Assistant Surgeon Hawke, U. S. 
X. ; doctor. 

Lieutenant and Chaplain Henry B. Bartow; Episcopal 
rector. 

Lieutenant and Assistant Surgeon Woodbury; doctor. 

Lieutenant and Second Assistant Surgeon Alexander 
G. Hazard ; doctor. 

Lieutenant and Engineer \\'illiam Pratt, of the L'. S. 
Navy ; machinist. 

Lieutenant and Engineer Thomas Crosby, of the U. S. 
Navy ; machinist. 

Three of these officers died of wounds ; five others were 
wounded but recovered ; two died in the field of disease, a 
mortality of ten, or one-fourth of the whole. 

Of these forty-three officers from Bristol, all but four 
have answered the final roll call, these being Admiral 
Hawke, Lieutenant Beatty, Engineer Pratt and Captain 
Burnet Landreth. 

Terrible Railroad Accident. — In the month of March, 
1865, ^ terrible railroad accident occurred at the Mill 
Street crossing of the Pennsylvania Railroad. But one 
track ran through the town at this period. A train, sev- 
eral rear cars of which were loaded with soldiers, some 
of whom had recently been released from Libby Prison, 
became disabled and stopped on the crossing at i o'clock 
A. M. The old railroad ran just back of Otter Street 
and the curve in the road made it impossible to see an 
approaching train either way, until it had almost reached 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 23I 

the crossing. Joseph TomHnson, a resident of Bristol, 
Avas station master at Schenk's station (Croyden), having 
charge of the switches at that point. On the night when 
the accident occurred, the conductor of the wrecked 
train, told Mr. Tomlinson to hold the express train, which 
was following, until the lights of his train were out of 
sight. These instructions Mr. Tomlinson followed, but 
an unexpected breakdown detained the first train at the 
Mill Street crossing. The express train came thundering 
along unaware of the near proximit}'- of the preceding 
train, and rounding the curve crashed into it on the cross- 
ing, while running at full speed. The three rear cars on 
the front train, which contained the soldiers, were tele- 
scoped and their occupants pinioned in the debris. To 
add to the horror of the scene, the coaches took fire and 
the cries of the wounded, whose agonies were increased as 
the flames reached their bodies, were heartrending. Fire 
Company No. i quickly responded to the call for assist- 
ance and the old hand engine was put into effective 
service. As soon as the flames were subdued the citizens 
made an effort to release the wounded. Carpenters 
brought their saws and cut through the side of the 
coaches, then ropes were fastened to the loosened por- 
tions, and in this manner the sides of the cars were pulled 
out. The wounded were carried into nearby houses. 
Some were taken into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry 
Sutch, who lived in a brick house adjoining the track; 
others into the home of Elwood Doron, next to his lum- 
ber yard on Mill Street. The ambulances and surgeons 
from the hospital at China Hall, were quickly on the 
scene and the surgeons gave valuable service. The 
greaser on the wrecked locomotive was performing some 
duty outside the cab on the side of the boiler, when the 
wreck occurred, and in the collision was impailed on a 
piece of piping. He lived for half an hour, but it was two 
hours before the rescuers could reach his body. Such a 
horrible railroad accident was never before or since wit- 
nessed in Bristol. 

A coroner's jury was impanelled a few days following 
the accident and an investigation begun. When the con- 
ductor of the wrecked train was summoned before the 



232 A HISTORY OF HRISTOL BOROUGH. 

jur}', he endeavored to clear himself of blame, by claim- 
ing' to have instructed Tomlinson, the station master at 
Schenks, not to allow the express to follow. The coro- 
ner's jury rendered a verdict of criminal negligence, and 
the district attorney issued indictments against Tomlin- 
son and the engineer and conductor of the wrecked train, 
charging them with manslaughter. The trial of the 
engineer and conductor' was called first, when the con- 
ducator reaffirmed his statement made before the coroner's 
jury and both were acquitted. Mr. Tomlinson's trial was 
set for the next day and it looked as if he was to be made 
the scapegoat. It appeared, however, that on the night of 
the \vreck, the conductor had been asked the cause by a 
friend, and in the presence of several other citizens, 
among whom were Richard Trudgen and Charles M. 
Foster, had told how he had informed the station master 
at Schenks, to let the express pass as soon as the red 
lights of the first train were out of sight. When news 
reached Bristol on the afternoon of the day before the 
trial, that Tomlinson would undoubtedly be convicted, 
Messrs. Trudgen and Foster voluntarily went to Doyles- 
town, arriving in the evening, hunted up Mr. Tomlin- 
son's lawyer and informed him of the evidence they de- 
sired to give. He cautioned them of the necessity for 
secrecy and made his plans for the morrow. At the trial 
the conductor renewed his accusations against Tomlin- 
son, and the lawyer for the defense allowed all the evi- 
dence of the prosecution to be presented without com- 
ment. Then he called Messrs. Trudgen and Foster to 
the Avitness stand, both of whom recited the conversation 
which they had overheard between the conductor and 
his friend. The prosecuting attorney attempted to weak- 
en the evidence, but it was too convincing, and amid sup- 
pressed excitement the jury rendered a verdict of acquit- 
tal. Tose])h TomlinscMi lived to a ripe old age and died 
res])ccted I)y all who knew him. 

Robert Tyler. — At the breaking out of the Civil War, 
Robert Tyler, son of ex-President John Tyler, lived in the 
house on the river bank now occupied by Joseph R. 
Grundy, lie was a Southerner by birth and very pro- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 233 

nounced in his defense and advocacy of the South. One 
morning- he left town suddenly and a short time after- 
ward news was received here that he had joined the Con- 
federacy and had accepted an office under the rebel gov- 
ernment. In a newspaper article written by William 
Kinsey at the close of the war, we find a good description 
of the hot blooded Southern temperament possessed by 
Tyler, as well as the causes which finally carried him over 
to the Confederacy : 

"Shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter by the rebels, 
when the country was in a high state of excitement, and 
men, at the call of the President, were volunteering for 
the defense of the Government, and the watchword was 
'shoot every man who attempts to pull down the Ameri- 
can flag," when every man who was not outspoken in 
favor of sustaining the President, was suspected of being 
in sympathy with the South, Mr. Tyler at that time lived 
in a house on the river bank, belonging to Captain 
Hutchinson, near Penn Street (now tlie home of Jos. R. 
Grundy). He held the office of Clerk of the Supreme 
Court of Pennsylvania, and went to and returned from 
Philadelphia daily on the steamboat. Being a Southerner 
by birth and education, he had frequent conversations 
with the passengers, on the causes and effects of the war. 
He attributed the cause of the difficulty between the 
Xorth and South to acts of the Abolitionists. Those in 
sympathy with that body would reply and sometimes the 
conversation would run into personalities and become 
very bitter. 

"The day on which he left Philadelphia, the writer, with 
several of the citizens of Bristol, among whom were John 
Dorrance, Sr., and Robert Tyler, went to the citv. 
Shortly after the boat left, some of the passengers for 
the purpose of drawing from Tyler his sentiments on 
what he thought would be the results of the war between 
the Xorth and South, asked him if he believed the South- 
ern people would sustain their leaders in trying to destroy 
the Government. He said he believed from what he 
knew of Southern character, that unless Congress passed 
a stringent law to protect them in their rights to hold 
their slaves and recover them when they fled to the 



234 -^ HISTORY OF HRISTOI, P.OROUGH. 

North, unmolested, their leaders would be sustained, and 
he thought if a war took place it would be a long and 
bloody one, the consequences of which no man could cal- 
culate. Mr. Dorrance replied and said if a war was begun 
he didn't believe it would last ninety days. Tyler, some- 
what excited, said : "Why John, if a battle between the 
Northern and Southern troops was to take place on ycjur 
farm the blood would run to the bits of the horses' 
bridles." The conversation was kept up with bitterness 
until the arrival of the boat at the city, when it was 
learned that a meeting of the citizens to sustain the 
Government would be held at Independence Square, on 
that day. At the meeting, one of the speakers stated that 
it was reported Robert Tyler was in sympathy with the 
South, and was in the habit of speaking in their defense. 
The excitement was great. Some one said he ought to be 
lynched. It appeared that an attempt would be made to 
arrest him. One of his friends, who was present, fearing 
for his safety, hurried to his office and informed him of 
what was said about him at the meeting, and advised 
him to leave the city immediately. Fearing to be seen in 
the street he hired a carriage and was driven to Frank- 
ford, where he took the cars -to Bristol. In the mean- 
time parties were searching for him in the city with a 
view of arresting him for treason. Ncavs had reached 
Bristol that a mob in Philadelphia were in search of 
Robert Tyler. Had they arrested him he would have 
been locked u\) and deprived of his libert3\ There was 
to be a meeting and parade in Bristol on the night of his 
arrival. His friends, believing him to be a loyal man, 
fearing an attempt might be made to molest him, and for 
the high estimation they had for his family, called on Mr. 
Lee, who was to have charge of the parade, and requested 
him not to march his men in the neighborhood of Mr. 
Tyler's house. He assured them that no demonstration 
should be made that would give any cause of alarm to 
Mr. Tyler or his family. About the time the procession 
got into line it commenced to rain; when they reached 
Dorrance Street, the rain increasing, Lee marched his 
men up to Wood, down to Mill, and they were dismissed, 
no demonstration having been made against j\Ir. Tyler. 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 235 

Colonel Montgomery and other citizens called on the 
family and assured them that they would not be dis- 
turbed. They were in great fear and excitement, and the 
next morning Mr. Tyler left for New York. 

"A few days after, the writer (Wm. Kinsey), being in 
New York, passing up Courtlandt Street, met Mr. Tyler 
and his wife on their Avay to the depot. They both ap- 
peared glad to meet me and Mr. Tyler commenced to talk 
about his exit from Philadelphia. He inquired particu- 
larly about the state of feeling of the people in relation to 
the charges made against him, and said he had been 
maligned and misrepresented by persons who had led him 
into conversation on the questions of the times for the 
purpose of misrepresenting him in his attitude to the 
Government through malice and political jealousy. He 
had no interest in the South personally or pecuniarily; 
his wife and children were born in the North, and here 
was his home and friends. He was for peace and not for 
war. In the course of our conversation he asked if I 
thought he would meet with personal interference if he 
returned to Philadelphia. He said he had no fears of 
any one molesting him in Bristol. I advised him not to 
return to the city until the excitement against him had 
died out, and recommended that he write to the Mayor 
of Philadelphia stating fully and clearly his feelings and 
attitude toward the Government, and ask him in case he 
returned to Philadelphia, if he thought he would be 
molested, and if he were, whether he could protect him 
from violence. He thanked me for my advice and we 
parted. 

"After the close of the war I was at the Merchants' 
House in Philadelphia, and there I met Mr. Tyler; he had 
arrived the night before. He said he was pleased to meet 
an old citizen of Bristol, and in course of conversation 
referred to our last meeting in New York. I said to him : 
"You should not have left the North ; it was a mistake ; 
you had better remained, as the excitement against you 
would have soon died out." He replied : "I took your 
advice and wrote to the Mayor of Philadelphia ; he 
promptly answered my letter and said he thought my re- 
turn to Philadelphia would be attended with serious 
16 



236 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

consecjiiences ; that the excitement against me was so 
great that he could not promise me protection from per- 
sonal assault. Finding myself, as it were, an outlaw, I 
had no other alternative but to leave the North and take 
a position that was repugnant to my feelings and against 
my best interests." 

After Mr. Tyler cast his lot with the confederacy, his 
property was confiscated by the Government and his 
household goods sold at public sale. x\ clock belonging 
to Mr. Tyler was purchased by the late John W'orrell. 
and years afterwards, while Mr. Worrell was in the em- 
ploy of our fellow-townsman, Mr. Joseph R. Grundy, he 
presented the clock to his employer. Mr. Grundy still 
holds it in his possession, a "timely" reminder of a prom- 
ising young man, who started in life with every pros- 
pect of becoming eminently successful in the line of his 
chosen profession, but who, by his allegiance to an unholy 
cause, fell short of his highest ambition. 

A Whale in the Delaware at Bristol. — "Our citizens 
were treated to a free exhibition and some of the more 
hazardous, to novel and lively sport, by the appearance of 
a black whale (grampus) in the Delaware, on Monday 
last (April 22, 1861). His whaleship passed up and down 
the river, between Burlington, and for a short distance 
above Bristol, several times, and was repeatedly seen at 
difl-'erent times, spouting a stream of water several feet 
high. Our sportsmen with the oar succeeded in nearly 
shoaling him several times, and once had him for a time 
fast with a harpoon, from which both it and they more 
luckily escaped, being taken. It was eventually captured 
on Tuesday near the site of 'the treaty elm,' Kensington. 
It was said to be about forty-six feet long." ( Bache's 
Index.) 

Death of Dr. John Phillips. — Dr. IMiillips, one of the 
most beloved physicians who ever practised in r>ristol, 
died tran(|uilly. surrounded by his family, in his home, 
on ^\lesday evening, December 31, 1861. He was re- 
garded by his ])rofessional brethren with great respect 
for his fine talents, large experience, and unusual skill as 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 237 

a practitioner. Indeed, while his modesty forbade him to 
make the least assumption of superior powers, he was 
unquestionably admitted by all who were brought in con- 
tact with him, to be one of the most able and successful 
physicians in this state. In addition to his professional 
attainments, his courtly manners and generous qualities 
recommended him to the favor of all. He was borne to 
his last resting place on the Saturday afternoon following 
his death amid the lamentations of the whole town. A 
constant tide of people moving sad and slow, passed into 
the house of the deceased to take a last look at their 
venerable friend. It was not idle curiosity that led them 
there — -many came in humble apparel and went away 
weeping'. The poorest as well as the richest felt that 
they had lost a friend. The memory of kind words, 
patient watching in sickness, little delicacies carried to 
the sufferer's bedside by his own generous hand — aye, 
and bread for the starving — the recollection of these 
things brought many humble mourners to his coffin. 
His remains were taken to the Episcopal Church (St. 
James'), where appropriate services were read. Rev. 
Mr. Pierson, the pastor of the church, in a short dis- 
course, spoke of the many conversations he had with the 
deceased during his sickness and said that the doctor 
requested him to bear testimony to his friends, that he 
had an abiding faith in Christ his Saviour, and that if he 
was permitted to recover he would consecrate the re- 
mainder of his days to religion. Dr. Phillips was in his 
seventy-first year. He had practiced medicine in Bristol 
and the surrounding neighborhood, for upw^ards of fifty 
years. His manner in the sick room was always tender 
and sympathizing, and in cases of serious illness, no sac- 
rifice or attention was considered too great on his part, 
where he could thereby benefit the patient. 

Bristol Woolen Mill Company. — The Bristol Woolen 
Mill Company was organized in 1864 with a capital of 
$60,000, which was afterward increased to $75,000, and 
a large two-story building was erected for the manufac- 
ture of fancy knit goods of wool, at that time very popu- 
lar for ladies' wear. This enterprise enjoyed a brief 



238 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

period of fair success, but fashions changed and after a 
season of unprofitable business, it shared the fate of its 
unfortunate predecessors and was closed with consider- 
able loss. The property passed into other hands and 
was converted into a hosiery mill, being" run by Lewis 
Jones, of Germantown, under the management of Thomas 
Hughes, of this place. It had an aggregate of about 
25,000 square feet of floor surface, and was fully equipped 
with cards, spi^idles, and knitting r^achines, adapted to 
the manufacture of plain and fancy cotton and merino 
hosiery. After the retirement of Lewis Jones and the 
death of Thomas Hughes, the business was continued 
for a period by Miss flattie Hughes. For the last few 
years the building has been unoccupied. 




A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 239 



EPOCH VIII. 



BRISTOL A MANUFACTURING TOWN. 



From 1865, the Close of the Civil War, to 191 1, the 
Present Year. 

Introduction. — Mention has previously been made of 
the lethargy into which the town subsided, following the 
destruction of the coal trade, by the construction of the 
outlet lock at New Hope and the shipping of coal from 
Philadelphia by the Reading Railroad Company. This 
lethargy continued for several years, extening down 
through the period of the Civil War. Then the factories 
came. Employment was given to many. The town be- 
gan to grow. The hum of the spindles was heard, the 
click of the loom became music to the ear of many Avill- 
ing workers who had no opportunity before, the carpen- 
ter and mason became busy, and an air of general pros- 
perity again prevailed. Since 1868 many mills and fac- 
tories have been erected, the invested capital of which 
amounts to several million dollars. 

Industrial Progress. — Interesting paper read by Jos- 
eph R. Grundy, Bristol's leading manufacturer, at the 
spring meeting' of the Bucks County Historical Society, 
held in the Friends' Meeting House, Bristol (1910) : 

"The west bank of the Delaware River, we are told, 
was first settled in the neighborhood of Chester, by a 
body of Swedes about 1677, and shortly following that 
settlement, the ancestors of some of us found their way 
farther east and established for themselves a home within 
what is now the Qounty of Bucks. So numerous had this 
settlement become that at the end of twenty years we 
find the provincial government petitioned for the estab- 



240 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

lishment of a market town at what is now the site of 
Bristol, and four years later, or in 1701, Samuel Carpen- 
ter, described as a wealthy merchant of Philadelphia, 
attracted b}' the water power, furnished a mill property 
for the grinding- of grain and the sawing of timber. This 
enterprise heralded a beginning of considerable activity, 
as it afforded the settlers a medium of profitably clearing 
their lands and also of grinding the grain which they 
were then beginning to grow upon the lands that had 
been already gotten under cultivation. 

"This industry undoubtedly was responsible for the 
fact that there followed the establishment of shipbuilding 
upon Mill Creek, the timber for which the local mill aided 
in preparing, and further aided in providing cargoes for 
the ships when built to carry, and thus it was for prac- 
tically a century the industry of our neighborhood con- 
sisted in the building of ships, the sawing of timber and 
the grinding of grain, which was freely exported to 
various parts of the world. 

"In 1815 we are told that a woolen mill was established 
along the banks of Mill Creek, but its existence was of 
short duration, a quarrel having occurred in the firm 
which resulted in the removal of the machinery to 
Groveville, N. J. 

"The year 1827 saw the beginning of the construction 
by the state of the Delaware Division of the Lehigh 
Canal which was completed three years later, and fur- 
nished thereby an outlet from the anthracite coal regions 
of the north to tidewater. This development brought 
much activity in shipping lines and much labor found 
employment in handling the cargoes of coal which fecund 
their Avay to the sea by way of this new development. 

"In 1853 ^ body of capitalists gathered together the 
sum of $12,000, and in the neighborhood of the junction 
of Beaver Dam Road and the northwestern side of the 
canal established what was known as the Bristol Forge, 
for the purpose of making wrought iron. 

"About this time, however, the borough met with a 
severe setback; the extension of the Philadcl])hia and 
Reading Railroad from l^ethlchem to Philadelphia, by 
which route thereafter they shi])])e(l the C(ial to their 




JOSEPH R. GRUNDY, 
Jristol's Leading Mamifacturei 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 24I 

yards in Port Richmond on the Delaware ; thus taking 
from our town the employment and business Avhich had 
for a quarter of a century played an important part in its 
growth and prosperity. 

"The period of time from 1855 to i860 is recorded as 
one of great depression due largely to this cause. It will 
be noted that up to this period substantially all the 
activity and business development had been created by 
the handling of raw products either of the mines or of the 
soil, and exporting same. The requirements of our 
people in all other than food products being imported 
from abroad. 

"The year i860 found our country in a condition of 
great turmoil and alarm. A man had been elected Presi- 
dent of the United States who was not in sympathy with 
Southern traditions, and the South, which for many years 
had been in charge of the Government, was upon the 
verge of secession. With the control of the Government 
thus far in their hands and with secession in their minds, 
it was but natural that ships, arms and munitions of Avar 
should have been transferred by those in charge, to 
points south of Mason and Dixon's line, in anticipation 
of the coming struggle. Thus when Abraham Lincoln 
subscribed to the oath of office as President of the I'nited 
States, he found the Government of our country con- 
fronted not only with secession and civil war. but also 
stripped of means to enforce by force of arms, the laws 
of our country and cope with the rebellion which was 
then before him. In order to provide and equip the 
armies and navies of the United States, large expendi- 
tures confronted the Government ; as the treasury was 
as depleted as were the arsenals, large sums of money 
had to be borrowed on the faith of the Government, and 
to provide for the interest and principal of these obliga- 
tions every method of taxation was, in the course of the 
struggle, resorted to, including heavy import duties upon 
all kinds of manufactured products into our country. 

"The import duties on manufacturers from abroad, 
high as they were, was not the only drawback to procur- 
ing goods from foreign lands. Many enterprises of a 
privateering character were entered into by men taking 



242 A HISTORY OF r.RlSTOI, liOROUGH. 

advantage of the condition in which the Government of 
our country found itself and harassed in the name of the 
Confederacy the shipping trade of Northern states, and 
so our foreign trade relations were not only made diffi- 
cult by high tarifif duties, but hazardous by the fear of 
capture by those engaged in preying on our commerce. 

"The effect of the Government being a very large pur- 
chaser of all commodities, such as clothing, boots and 
shoes, arms and armament, to say nothing of the general 
equipment necessary to maintain large armies in the field, 
coupled with the requirements of our people, also the 
great abundance of money due to the large expenditures 
on the part of the Government for war purposes ; created 
great opportunity for domestic manufacture of all classes 
of merchandise. Under this stimulance domestic indus- 
tries to meet these requirements sprang up and flourished 
on every side, and the industrial strides made by the 
North during the Civil War, reflects their most prosper- 
ous period in American history. 

"The close of the Civil War, in 1865, brought many 
problems to those in charge of our Government, but none 
that they approached with more serious consideration 
than that of restoring the revenues of the Government to 
a peace basis and yet not disturb the splendid industrial 
development which had been created by the conditions 
before described. To prepare for this the Congress of 
the United States appointed a Revenue Commission con- 
sisting of David A. Wells, of Connecticut ; S. S. Hayes, of 
Massachusetts, and Stephen A. Col well, of Pennsylvania. 
The work of this commission covered a period of two 
years and proved to be a masterly review of the revenue 
laws of the land. In the latter part of 1866. this commis- 
sion made its report to the then Secretary of the Trea- 
sury the Hon. Hugh McCollough, who after approving 
same and certifying to it, laid it before the then Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Schuyler S. 
Colfax, who in turn approved and certified the report to 
the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of 
Congress, the Hon. Justin S. Morrell, who made this 
report the basis of what has since been known in history 
as the Morrell Tariff Act of 1867. The passage of this 




JOSHUA PEIRCE. 
Bristol's Industrial Pioneer. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 243 

law brought continued confidence and encouragement to 
our industrial development as a country and formed the 
basis upon Avhich every protective tariff bill has since 
been constructed. 

"In the industrial uplift following i860, Bristol shared. 

"The Bristol Forge, located on Buckley Street, became 
the scene of great activity. Its. original capital of $12,000 
was raised to $125,000, and its products found a ready 
market both for Government and domestic uses. The 
prosperity of this company led to the erecting of a similar 
concern known as the Keystone Forge Company. In 
1864 the Bristol Woolen Mills were established on Buck- 
ley Street for the manufacture of knit fabrics. This prop- 
erty passed through several hands and afforded, up until 
recent years, the employment of many hundreds of 
peo])le. 

"The year 1868 is notable in Bristol's industrial history 
as marking the return of Joshua Peirce to Bristol after 
several years' residence in the western part of Pennsyl- 
vania. Impressed by the favorable location of- Bristol for 
industrial development and the opportunities which the 
Morrell Tariff Act created ; he established the Living- 
stone ^lills for the manufacture from wool of felt 
products. He actively and enthusiastically entered into 
the industrial development of Bristol, and in 1871 was 
instrumental in establishing the Bristol Foundry, since 
operated by ex-Burgess Thomas B. Harkins. The sash 
and ])laning mills now operated by Messrs. Peirce & 
\\'illiams were located in Bristol in 1873, and in 1875, 
likewise through Mr. Peirce's activities, the f)ristol Roll- 
ing Mills were built by Messrs. Nevegold & Scheide. 

In 1876 Mr. Peirce organized for the further industrial 
development of Bristol the Bristol Improvement Com- 
pany, and the same year this company erected the 
worsted mills, which were leased to the then firm of 
Grundy P.rothers and Campion. In 1877 the Bristol Im- 
I)rovement Company erected for L. M. Harned & Co., 
the mill known as the Keystone Mill for the manufacture 
of fringe and braids. In 1880 the same company erected 
the Star Mills for a firm engaged in the manufacture of 
knit goods, and in 1882 the Wall Paper Mills, which have 



244 -'^ HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

since been operated under various management were also 
erected by this company. About this time Samuel Apple- 
ton erected the mill located on Buckley Street near 
Beaver Dam Road, now operated by Henderson & Co.,. 
as a carpet mill, and in 1887 the Improvement Company 
erected the fine property of the Bristol Carpet Mills for 
the then firm of Thomas L. Leedom & Co. 

"In 1889 the leather factory, now known as the Corona 
Leather Works, was established by Boston capitalists,, 
and in 1906 the Patent Leather Company engaged in a 
similar line of work to that of the Corona Leather Works,, 
was established by its enterprising president, our towns- 
man, Mr. C. L. Anderson. 

"The year following, the Standard Cast Iron Pipe and 
Foundry Company erected the large works in the town- 
ship just east of the borough line. This last mentioned 
mill property about completes the industrial enterprises 
now in existence in our district. It is interesting to note 
some of the deductions Avhich are drawn from Bristol's 
industrial development. 

"The first is that from the settlement of our neighbor- 
hood in 1677 to i860, a period of 183 years, the population 
had but grown to about 2,500 people, and in assessed 
valuation the borough reached a property valuation of 
slightly under $500,000. During the past fifty years the 
industrial conditions which had led to the development of 
Bristol up to i860 have entirely passed away. The busi- 
ness of the canal for the most part was diverted else- 
where, the grist mill has long since passed out of active 
operation, and with it the saw mill, and in their place 
industrial activity was found in the manufacture of iron, 
of carpets, of hosiery, of leather products, mill work, and 
yarn and cloths for the clothing of our people. 

"In the 183 years since the settlement, to i860, our 
]>()])ulation had grown to 2,500. Fifty years later we 
a])pro.\imate 10,000 souls. The assessed valuation, which 
in 183 years had reached nearly $500,000 in 1860, since 
has grown to $3,000,000, and the number of people em- 
ployed in the mills in 1910 approximate 3,300; the wages 
annually paid to these operatives total $1,750,000, while 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 245 

the value of the manufactured product amounts to sub- 
stantially $12,000,000 annually. 

"The past decade, in Bristol especially, has been one of 
marked prosperity in its industrial development; its 
population has increased 40 per cent, over that of 1900, 
and never in the history of the borough has there been a 
year when expenditures for development and advance- 
ment of the community will be as great as that of the 
year 1910. 

"As stated before, in the 183 years of the life of our 
neighborhood up to i860, the assessed valuation of our 
town was less than $500,000. Yet this year do we find 
one enterprise under way, that of changing of the lines 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which will involve an ex- 
penditure of more than $1,000,000. Also we find in the 
development and extension of mill operations already 
located within our neighborhood contracts made for the 
expenditure in new buildings and equipment approximat- 
ing $750,000. In building operations for homes for our 
people, probably not less than $50,000 additional will be 
expended, while many more homes would find ready 
rental if constructed, all directly reflecting a condition 
of business activity and industrial development much to 
be desired and encouraged. 

"Those of us who have been identified with Bristol's 
growth during the past generation, naturally take much 
pride in what has been accomplished. But however grati- 
fying the past may have been we feel that should there 
be no change in the fiscal policy of the Government which 
has made possible our development in the past, the future 
of our neighborhood is very bright. We believe the work 
now under way by the Pennsylvania Railroad will be a 
great factor in this direction, as it will open up some 
three miles of lands for development along their new 
lines which heretofore has been inaccessible, owing to 
physical difficulties. The removal of passenger tracks at 
grade crossings from the heart of our town, thus afford- 
ing free access and communication to all sections, is 
something greatly to be desired, and the development 
which naturally will follow in trolley service will bear 
an important part in our growth and added convenience. 



246 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

"Ill all of the problems which effect our future develop- 
ment, our local government is deeply interested. The 
question of our future water supply, a question of great 
importance to every industrial town, is being solved in 
the direction of municipal control of this important 
utility. A complete sewer system for the better sanita- 
tion of the borough will shortly be installed. Never was 
there a brighter horizon for our people than that which 
at this day confronts them. 

"In all ages the valor and l)ra\'ery of men who have 
borne arms in the defence of their country has been the 
subject of grateful appreciation by their fellow man. If 
this is true in a general sense, when ai)]:)lied to those who 
fought on the side of the Union in the Civil War, it 
should have a double significance, for did not the bravery 
and patriotism of these men preserve our national in- 
tegrity, deliver unto freedom millions of men wdio had 
previously been held in bondage ; but unknown even to 
themselves evolved and developed in the minds of our 
patriotic statesmen of that day, out of the necessity and 
circumstances of the war, what has since been known as 
the American Protective Tariff System. The advantages 
and benefits of this system are directly evidenced by the 
development and prosperity of the community and our 
entire country during the past fifty years, and the ex- 
ample set has led to the adoption of this system as part 
of the fiscal policy of every civilized nation in the world 
but one. Surely can it be said of the patriotic soldiers of 
'60 to '64, 'they built more wisely than they knew.' " 

Supplemental. — The Livingstone Mills were built by 
Messrs. Charles ^^'. and Joshua Peirce, in 1868, for the 
manufacture of printed felt druggets and floor cloths, 
but the character of the product was changed from year 
to year to meet the demands of a changing market. The 
coming of the Peirces to Bristol marked the beginning 
of an era of industrial activity wdiich has continued ever 
since. A large part of the product of the firm during the 
first few years of its existence, consisted of ladies' felt 
skirts, of which 2,000 per day were regularly produced. 
The exhibit of the firm at the Centennial Exposition, 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



247 



held in Philadelphia in 1876, was attractive and varied 
in character. The manufacture of felt cloths ceased in 
1882 in favor of medium and fine woolen cassimeres. 
Charles \\'. Peirce withdrew from the management in 
January, 1883, and the business was conducted under the 
firm name of Joshua Peirce & Co. Mr. Peirce failed in 
1887. Subsequently the plant was purchased by Edward 
T. Steel & Co., the present oAvners, and fitted out for the 
manufacture of men's worsted fabrics. 




Arir.LS Ol- KliWAKI) T. STKKL X CO. 



The Bristol Foundry, operated by T. B. Harkins 
Foundry Company, was established in 1871, for the manu- 
facture of stove plate and fire castings. Though limited 
in extent, this enterprise has been successful and pros- 
perous, and has acquired an extended reputation for 
superiority of workmanship. 

The sash and planing mill of Joseph Sherman was 
built in 1873, was later operated under the firm name of 
Sherman & Peirce, and since the death of the former 
partner, has been known as the Bristol Woodworking 
Mill, operated by Peirce & Williams. In 1891 a disas- 



248 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

trous fire burned the buildings to the ground, after which 
the splendidly equipped factory of today was erected. 

The Bristol Rolling Mill was built by Messrs. Neve- 
gold, Schiede & Co., in 1875, for the manufacture of hoop, 
scale and band iron from scrap and muck bar. After the 
withdrawal of Frederick Nevegold, in September, 1886, 
the proprietorship was vested in the Bristol Rolling Mill 
Company, which was incorporated in 1881, with Charles 
E. Schiede president and GilTord L. Lewis, secretary and 
treasurer. Subsequent to the failure of the Bristol Rolling 
Mill Company, the mill has been operated at intervals by 
the Bristol Iron and Steel Company. The mill is now 
idle with very little prospects of an early resumption. 

The Bristol Improvement Company was incorporated 
in 1876, with a capital of $60,000, mainly through the 
efforts of Joshua Peirce, to whom much credit is due for 
the establishment and successful operation of the enter- 
prise. The purpose of the corporation was to offer facili- 
ties to manufacturers desiring to locate here by erecting 
a building for their accommodation, thus encouraging 
the growth of manufacturing industries in the borough. 

The Bristol \\'orsted Mills, the first erected by the 
Bristol Improvement Company, were established in 1876, 
by Messrs. Grundy Bros. & Campion. The senior part- 
ner, Mr. Edmund Grundy, died in 1884, but the firm name 
remained unchanged for two years longer. In 1886 the 
firm was reorganized under the name of Wm. H. Grundy 
& Co., Mr. Campion retiring. The new firm consisted of 
Wm. H. Grundy, George A. Shoemaker and Joseph R. 
Grundv. After the death of the elder Mr. Grundy, in 
1893, the partnership was continued between the other 
two members of the firm, under the same title. Mr. 
Shoemaker retired in December, 1900, since which time 
the business has been conducted by Mr. Joseph R. 
Grundy, who is the sole owner. The firm manufactures 
wool to])s and worsted yarns for men's wear, dress goods 
and hosiery trade, both in grey and mixtures. During 
the year 1910, the firm erected a seven-story reinforced 
concrete storehouse, the first building of its character to 
be constructed in this vicinity. 'I'he first three stories of 
the new structure, which is parallel \\\{h the canal, are 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 249 

an extension to the main mill and when equipped with 
machinery will increase the working force from 800, the 
present number, to 1,000 hands. The plans for the build- 
ing were drawn by the architectural firm of Messrs. Hea- 
cock & Hokinson, of Philadelphia, which firm also super- 
intended its construction. 

The building is surmounted by a clock tower, the 
heighth of which (from the ground to the top of the 
tower), is 168 feet, 4 inches. The height of base above 
the ground is 89 feet ; from the base to centre of dial is 
58 feet, 4 inches, and the distance from the centre of dial 
to the base of flag pole is 21 feet. The length of flag pole 
above the roof is 35 feet, making the total distance from 
the ground to the top of the pole 203 feet, 4 inches. The 
tower contains four clock dials, each of which has a 
diameter of 14 feet. The tower is 19 feet square and has 
four observation balconies, one on each side, 134 feet 
above the ground. It also contains four observation 
windows, 158 feet above the ground. The estimated 
weight of the tower is 225,000 pounds. The dials are of 
glass, and being illuminated at night, can be seen dis- 
tinctly from all parts of the town. 

The year following the erection of the Bristol Worsted 
Mills (1877), the Keystone Mill was built by the Bristol 
Improvement Company and leased to Messrs. L. M. Har- 
necl & Co., fringe manufacturers. They occupied it but 
a few years, and in 1885 it was leased to the Bristol 
Worsted Mills as a storehouse for wool and was con- 
tinuously rented by them from year to year, until the 
building was purchased by Messrs. Edward T. Steel 
& Co. 

The Star Mill was the third mill erected by the Bristol 
Improvement Company. It was originally occupied by 
the Star Woolen Mill Company, and later by Joshua 
Peirce & Co., as a cloth weaving mill. When the latter 
company failed in 1887, the mill was used as a storehouse 
by \\'m. H. Grundy & Co. This mill was annexed to the 
Paper Mill in July, 1891. 

Previous to the erection of the Star Mill, the Bristol 
Improvement Company had built a small one-story build- 
ing, 32 by 50 feet, for Woods & Killinger, to be used as 



250 



A HISTORY Ol- nklS'Pol, lUJRUUGH. 



a keg" factory. This building was torn down to make 
room lor tlie new structure, and the keg factory was 
removed to a two-story frame Ijuikhng, which had been 
erected along the canal basin at the foot of the Cedar 
Street hill, on ground owned l)v Dr. Howard Tursell. 
The factory was only in operation a short time, when it 
caught tire one afternoon, and was burned to the ground. 
During the conflagration the boiler exploded, but no one 
was injured. 

After the completion of the Star Mill, the large wall 
paper mill was erected by the I'.ristol Improvement Com- 




I'AI'KK Mil. I. ol'KR.VTED BY CLEOH II.I. WALL PAI'ER CO. 



pany and leased to Messrs. Wilson & Fenimore. This 
industry involved the exercise of high artistic and 
mechanical talent. The firm sold out its interest se\eral 
years ago to the wall paper trust, and were succeeded by 
Kayser & Allman and later by the Lewis Chase Wall 
Paper Company. The mill today is operated by the Glad- 
hill Wall Paper Compan}'. 

The last mill erected by the Bristol lm])ro\ement Com- 
pany (1877), was the Bristol Car])et ]\Iills, now owned I)\- 



A HISTORY OF CRISTOIv BOROUGH. 



251 



The Thomas L. I^eedom Company. This firm removed 
from Philadelphia and manufactures rugs and carpets. Of 
later years close attention has been given to the develop- 
ment of the "Wilton Rug" industry, and by a number of 
improvements in its manufacture, the firm has become 
the foremost producer in the country. 

Of later years the Bristol Improvement Company has 
been disposing of its mills to its tenants. Joseph R. 
Grundy has purchased the Bristol Worsted Mills ; the 




CARPET MIW.S OF THOS. I.. I.EEDOM CO. 



Keystone Mill was sold to Edward T. Steel & Co.; and 
the large carpet mill was bought by The Thomas L. 
Leedom Company. The only properties now held by the 
Bristol Improvement Company are the Wall Paper Mill 
and the Harkin's Foundry. 

During the year 1879, Clara Appleton erected a hosiery 
mill on Buckley Street, near Beaver Dam Road. It was 
destroyed by fire, but later rebuilt on a smaller scale and 
is now occupied by Wm. Henderson for the manufacture 
of carpets. 

Messrs. D. E. Baker & Co., in 1899, purchased the old 
rubberoid works on Beaver Street, and began the manu- 
17 



252 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

facture of patent kid and colt leather. The firm was 
reorganized in 1900 and incorporated as a stock company 
under the name of the Corona Kid Company. The Bris- 
tol Patent Leather Company moved its plant from Cam- 
den, N. J., to Bristol in 1906, since which time it has 
rapidly clcveloped. Both companies are in a flourishing 
condition and are a valuable addition to the industrial life 
of the borough. 

The Standard Cast Iron & Foundry Company, spoken 
of in Mr. Grundy's paper, is located just east of the bor- 
ough limits. It is gradually increasing its output and al- 
though most of its employees occupy houses erected by 
the company in the vicinity of its works, yet its influence 
is felt by the merchants of Bristol, and it is claimed as 
one of the town's most flourishing industries. 

Joseph Ridgway Grundy. — Proprietor of the Bristol 
Worsted Mills, and one of the most prominent manufac- 
turers and business men of Bucks County, was born in 
Camden, New Jersey, January 13, 1863, and is a son of 
the late William Hulme and Mary (Ridgway) Grundy, 
and a grandson of Edmund and Rebecca (Ilulme) 
Grundy, and is a descendant on the maternal side from 
the earliest English settlers on the Delaware. 

Edmund Grundy, grandfather of Joseph R., was a 
native of England, came to this country when a young- 
man and located in Philadelphia, where he became a 
prominent merchant. He retired from business in 1856, 
at the same time moving to Walnut Grove Farm, Bristol 
Township, where he resided until his death in 1878. He 
married Rebecca Hulme, daughter of ^\'illiam and Rachel 
(Knight) Hulme, of Hulmevillc, Bucks County, and they 
were the parents of five children. 

William Hulme Grundy, the father of the subject of 
this sketch, was the second child of Edmund and Rebecca 
(Hulme) Grundy, and was born in Philadelphia in De- 
cember, 1836. He was educated at a select school in that 
city and at an early age became a clerk in a mercantile 
establishment. Later he entered into the mercantile trade 
for himself in that city. In 1870 he began the manufac- 
ture of worsted yarns. mo\'ing liis ])lant to IJristol, Bucks 




WILLIAM H. GRUNDY, 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 253 

County, in 1876, establishing the Bristol Worsted Mills, 
SO long- and successfully conducted by the firm of Wm. 
H. Grundy & Co., of which firm he was the senior mem- 
ber. It proved to be one of the important industries of 
the county, and gave employment to several hundred 
hands. William H. Grundy was a public-spirited and 
broad-minded business man, and did much to advance 
the interests of his town. He was president of the Bristol 
Improvement Company, and filled the ofihce of chief bur- 
gess of the town for two terms. He was always active 
in all that pertained to the best interests of the town and 
won and held the respect and esteem of all with whom 
he came in contact. He was one of the first members of 
the Union League of Philadelphia, and a prominent mem- 
ber of the Manufacturers' Club of that city. He was also 
a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity. His 
career of extraordinary business activity and usefulness 
was terminated by his sudden death on October 26, 1893, 
of heart disease. 

Mr. Grundy married in 1861, INIary Ridgway, of New 
Jersey, a lineal descendant of Richard Ridgway, of Wel- 
ford. County of Bucks, England, who arrived in the 
River Delaware, in the ship ''Jacob and Mary," of Lon- 
don, in September, 1679, and settled near the Falls of the 
Delaware in what is now Falls Township, Bucks County, 
where he was a considerable land holder. The first court- 
house of Bucks County was erected on land belonging to 
Richard Ridgway. Mr. Ridgway was accompanied to 
America by his wife Elizabeth and son Thomas, and 
another son, Richard, was born a few months after their 
arrival. His wife died in Bucks Count3% and in 1699 he 
married Abigail Stockton, of New Jersey, and thereafter 
made his residence in Burlington County, New Jersey, 
where he became a very prominent man and left numer- 
ous descendants. 

The maternal ancestors of William Hulme Grundy 
were also among the earliest English settlers of Bucks 
County. George Hulme and his son George Hulme, Jr., 
came from England prior to 1700, and settled in Middle- 
town Township. George, Jr. married, in 1708, Naomi 
Palmer, daughter of John and Christian Palmer, who 



254 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



came to Bucks County from Cleveland, Yorkshire, arnv- 
ino- in the Delaware, September lO, 1863. Naomi only 
survived her marriage a short time. George Jr. married 
(second), her sister, Ruth Palmer, contrary to the rules 
of Middletown Friends' Meeting, which forbid marriage 
with a deceased wife's sister, and he was disowned by 
the Meeting. John Hulme, son of George and Ruth, 
married Mary Pearson, daughter of Enoch and Margaret 
(Smith) Pearson, of Buckingham, and their son John 
was the founder of Hulmeville, which still bears his name. 
He married Rebecca Milnor, daughter of William Milnor, 
of Penn's Manor, and lived for a number of years m the 
Manor In 1796 he exchanged his manor farm with 
Joshua Woolston for the Milford Mills, as Hulmeville 
was at that time known, and subsequently purchased 
several hundred acres of land adjoining, and with his sons 
William, John, Joseph, George and Samuel, established 
several new industries there and laid out and developed 

the town. . t^ i 

The family were the originators of the Farmers bank 
of Bucks County, which had its inception at Hulmeville. 
John Hulme was one of the most prominent business men 
of Bucks County and a pioneer in the rapid development 
that began in the first quarter of a century after the 
Revolution. His eldest son, William, ^yas a carpenter 
and cabinet maker and was associated with his father in 
the varied interests of the town, and assisted materially 
in its development. He married, April 17, 1794, Rachel 
Knight, and died in 1809, leaving one son, Joseph K., and 
two daughters, Susanna and Rebecca. The latter was 
born in 1803 and became the wife of Edmund Grundy. 
She outlived all of her generation, dying at her country 
residence in Bristol Township, October 26, 1895, at the 
advanced age of 92 years. Of her five children, only one 
survived her, Mrs. Susan G. Harrison. William Hulme 
and Mary (Ridgway) Grundy were the parents of two 
children, Joseph R., and Margaret R. Mrs. Grundy, who 
is still living, resides at Walnut Grove, in Bristol Town- 
ship, though much of her time is spent in traveling in 
Europe and elsewhere. (Davis' History of Bucks 
County.) 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 255 

Bud Doble, the World-Renowned Horse Trainer and 

Tockey.— Bud Doble, the greatest horse tranier and 
iockey America has ever known, lived in Bristol durnig 
the early years of his famous career. About 1867, he 
erected a large stable on the west side of Otter street, 
near Bath, and made it the winter quarters for his re- 
nowned trotting horses. In January, 1868, this stable 
caught fire and burned to the ground, but the horses 
were saved A new stable was subsequently built at the 
corner of Otter and Maple Streets. In this stable were 
wintered many of the most famous horses known to the 
world in that day. Among the number may be men- 
tioned Goldsmith Maid, Dexter, Lucy Lady Thorn, 
Snow Ball, Dot, Jay Gould and Flora Temple. Some- 
times as many as one hundred and fifty horses were 
wintered here at one time. Mr. Doble would allow the 
small boys of the town to take out the famous trotters 
for exercise, and many of our older men of today hold 
in their memory fond remembrances of having ridden, 
during their boyhood, upon the back of some of the fast- 
est horses in the world. r , , o o 

The famous Dexter, a brown gelding, foaled 1858, was 
the first of the great trotters that was bred m conformity 
with later-day ideas. The track career of this champion 
covered but three years, from 1864, to 1867, and m that 
time he performed in harness, under saddle and to wagon, 
winning forty-six contested races at various hitches and 
distances, one to three miles, and was defeated but four 
times. His essay against time was October, 1865, to beat 
2 19 under saddle, and he went the distance in 2.iS}i. 
His next time trial was in 1866, to beat his saddle record 
and he failed. The third was to beat the harness record 
of Flora Temple, starting August 14, 1867, at Buffalo, 
and in the second trial he trotted in 2.1734, thus making 
the world's record. This record maintained until 1869, 
when it was passed over to Yankee Sam, who reduced the 

time to 2.i6>^. r 1 1 o 

The incomparable Goldsmith Maid, a bay, foaled 1857, 
started on her brilliant career in 1865, taking a record of 
2.36. All told, in the twelve years she was on the turf, 
she trotted 135 races, winning 91. She also won nine- 



256 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

teen contests in which the three heats were in 2.20 or 
better. Her total of heats in races and against time was 
332. The first time she beat the 2.17^4 of Dexter and 
placed herself at the head of American trotters was Sep- 
tember 6, 1871, at the Cold Spring Track, Milwaukee, 
where she defeated Lucy in a match, the second heat in 
2.17 flat. Her greatest races were against Lucy, they 
meeting many times, Lucy defeating her but three times. 
Her next reduction of the record was June 29, 1872, at 
Mystic Park, Boston, again defeating Lucy, who forced 
her out in the second heat in 2.16^. July 16, 1874, at 
East Saginaw, Mich., she cut the record to 2.16, in the 
last heat of a match with Judge Fullerton. i\ugust 7, 
the same year, she started at Buffalo to beat her record,^ 
and trotted in 2.153/2, and the next week, at Rochester, 
won the second heat of a race with Fullerton and Ameri- 
can Girl in 2.14^. September ^. 1874, found her at 
Mystic Park, where she started against 2.14^, and cut 
the mark to 2.14, a record which stood for four years. 
Her only ap]:)roach to this record was 2.14^, in 1877, in 
a race with Rarus, who was destined to succeed her. The 
only famous trotter of the day that the Maid failed to 
defeat was Lady Thorn. Goldsmith Maid was retired 
to the breeding ranks at Fashion Stud, Trenton, N. J. 
The last public appearance of the Maid was at the first 
National Horse Show, in 1884, at Madison Square Gar- 
den, when she was paraded in the ring with the ex-cham- 
pion stallion. Smuggler, 2.15^4, who defeated her in 1876, 
at Cleveland, in one of the greatest old-time races in the 
Grand Circuit. She died September, 1885, at Fashion 
Stud, in her twenty-eighth year. She and Lucy, 2.iSj4, 
were inseparable at the farm. They were always to- 
gether in pasture and had adjoining boxes in the big 
barn. AAHien the Maid was dying, Lucy raged in her 
stall like a mad creature and was inconsolable for days. 
They were buried side by side. 

Mr. Doble removed from P)ristol to California during 
the 70's of the last century, where he married a daughter 
of "Lucky" Baldwin, the famous ranchman of Southern 
California. Mr. Doble is still living, spending his declin- 
ing years in (piict luxury, at Los Angeles, Cal. He was 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 257 

truly the greatest turfman of his day, and since then 
there have been none greater. 

Bristol Water Company.— The Bristol Water Company 
was incorporated August 31. 1874. The first standpipe 
erected was 140 feet high. Pipes were laid through the 
principal streets of the town, and extended with the 
growth and development of the municipality. The com- 
pany was successful from the start and for many years 
has' paid a 10 per cent, annual dividend. In 1895 the 
old standpipe was removed and a new one, 152 feet high, 
erected in its place. 

In 1906 the company entered into a contract with the 
New York Continental Jewelt Filter Company for a filter 
plant with a capacity of 2,000,000 gallons per day, at a 
cost of $25,000. This filter contains two coagulatmg 
tanks and four sand filters, occupying a space of 40 by 80 
feet, with a concrete storage basin, 40 by 80 by 9 feet m 
depth, being similar in all respects to the Norristown 
Filtering Plant except in size. 

It was during this year (1906) that Borough Council 
began the agitation for a municipal waterworks. The 
charter of the borough was changed by an act of the 
State Legislature, givnig to the borough greater borrow- 
ing powers. A bi'tter controversy ensued between the 
managers and stockholders of the company and those 
interested in the establishment of a municipal plant. 
Tuesday, July 10, 1906, was decided upon as the time 
when an election should be held by the citizens to decide 
upon the expenditure of $100,000 for a municipal water 
and filtration plant. In the midst of the controversy the 
water company began the installation of its filtration 
plant, but the citizens voted at the election in July, by a 
large majority, in favor of a municipal plant. Litigation 
followed in the courts, but all decisions favored the bor- 
ough's right to maintain a municipal plant. Last year 
(1910), the question was revived, and Borough Council 
endeavored to purchase the Bristol Water Works, but 
without success. Plans for a new municipal plant have 
been drawn, approved by the State Board of Health and 



258 A HISTORY OF P.RISTOI, BOROUGH. 

accepted by the Borough Council, and work on the new- 
plant will begin soon. 

The Buckley Street Mission Sunday School.— The 

Buckley Street Mission Sunday School was instituted 
in a small one-story building on Buckley Street, at the 
end of the mill yard of Thomas Hughes & Co., manufac- 
turers of hosiery and underwear, by Mr. and Mrs. James 
M. Slack, January 3, 1875, with sixteen scholars and four 
teachers. James M. Slack was its first superintendent 
and held the position continuously until his death. The 
building was erected by the firm for the accommodation 
of the school, and later enlarged as it increased its mem- 
bership. So rapidly did the school grow, that two years 
after its institution, 200 scholars and eighteen teachers 
were enrolled. 

This increase in membership necessitated larger ac- 
commodations, so the firm remodeled the building, adding 
another story and increasing its dimensions. This en- 
abled the primary department, under the charge of Mrs. 
Henry Bailey, to meet in the lower story, and the senior 
scholars to have the use of the upstairs' room. Mr. Slack 
continued as superintendent until his death, which oc- 
curred in January, 1888. Mrs. Slack succeeded her hus- 
band as Superintendent, and gave personal and financial 
support to the mission. 

The Christmas festival each year was made particu- 
larly enjoyable to the scholars. Gifts were presented to 
all, and special prizes were awarcjed for attendance dur- 
ing the past year. Mrs. Slack always bore the expenses 
herself and never allowed a collection to be taken for 
that purpose. She also devoted her time and spared no 
trouble in looking after the personal welfare of the 
scholars. On the occasion of one of the Christmas 
festivals, a large fountain was placed in the centre of 
the room and allowed to remain during the year. An 
interesting feature of the school was a Bible Class of 
twenty-five or thirty men, both old and young, in charge 
of Mrs. E. J. Groom, who was always present, as she 
said, "to look after her boys." 

Mrs. Slack had repeatedly asserted her determination 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 259 

to discontinue her connection with the mission when she 
reached the age of 70 years. When the time came, how- 
ever, it was hard work for her to break the ties asunder, 
and several Sundays passed before she could say the 
school would close. Finally, on Sunday, June 27, 1897, 
the Buckley Street Mission Sunday School, after a suc- 
cessful existence of twenty-two years, was discontinued, 
Following its close, the members decided to visit their 
superintendent, Mrs. Slack, on each recurring birthday, 
and thus keep united the ties of friendship and afifection 
\^■hich had bound them together for so many years. This 
custom has been continued during the thirteen years 
which have intervened since the close of the school, and 
on the evening of January 24th, of each year, the pleasant 
home of Mrs. Slack, at the corner of Radcliffe and Frank- 
lin Streets, is the scene of a happy reunion between the 
aged superintendent and her scholars, and her heart is 
cheered as she hears the boys and girls of former years 
sing over again the Gospel Hymns she taught them back 
in the olden days. 

America Hose, Hook and Ladder Company No, 2. — 

The America Hose, Hook and Ladder Company No. 2, 
was organized in October, 1874, and incorporated Jan- 
uary 12, 1875, with fifty charter members. The names of 
the six men, which appear upon the charter are : William 
H. Hall, John M. Callanan, Richard E. Shaw, Allen L. 
Garwood, W. Harry Wright and B. C. Foster. The first 
president of the company was Allen L. Garwood. On 
October i, 1876, just one year after its organization. Bor- 
ough Council authorized the construction of a one-story 
frame building on land owmed by the borough, at the 
corner of Pond and Mulberry Streets, for the use of the 
company, at a cost of $545. In February, 1882, the old 
building was torn down, and by authority of Town Coun- 
cil, a two-story brick building was erected at a cost of 
$2,940. In more recent years the company, with permis- 
sion of council, removed the brick building, and had 
erected, at its own expense, the handsome and commodi- 
ous stone building of today. The building cost the com- 
pany $10,000. The first truck owned by the company was 



260 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

built by \\'ilson Randall, the carriage builder on Bath 
Street, in 1875, at a cost of $650. After being in constant 
use for about a quarter of a century, it was supplanted 
by the splendid apparatus which is now in the company's 
possession today, and a few years later the old truck was 
sold to the Yardley Fire Company. This company has 
always been noted for its efficiency. Several times it 
has participated in parades in Philadelphia and other 
cities, always making a fine showing. Its twenty-fifth 
anniversay was celebrated by a banquet in Pythian Hall 
in October, 1899. 1 besides the truck, its equipment com- 
prises a hose wagon and a hose carriage. 

A Fruit Preserving Establishment. — Between 1875 and 
1880, below Bloomsdale, and on the bank of the river, 
was located the extensive establishment of Nathan Hell- 
ings, for the preservation of fruit. The main building 
was eighty by fifty with thick walls, and was 
so constructed as to avoid the outside changes of 
temperature, which was maintained within at from thirty- 
four to thirty-six degrees, while a current of dry air 
passed constantly through the building, to prevent mois- 
ture. A large ice bed under the centre of the building- 
cooled the atmosphere in summer. Here large quanti- 
ties of foreign and domestic fruits, in season, were stored 
for preservation. The storage capacity of the establish- 
ment was about 10,000 barrels. Improvements in the 
system of fruit preservation and the development of 
"cold storage," soon made the Bristol establishment im- 
practicable and it was closed with a total loss to the pro- 
prietor. Subsequently the buildings were destroyed by 
fire, but the old ruins can still be seen from the decks of 
the steamers which i)ly up and down the river. 

Reminiscences of Bristol in 1875-1880. — During this 
period Bristol was about half as large as it is today, hav- 
ing a population of 5,000. Joshua Peirce was developing 
the land above Washington Street, and the Fifth Ward 
was a })ossibility of the remote future. The Bristol Im- 
provement Company had been organized and Grundy's 
mill was the first to be erected. The Fourth A\'ar(l was 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 261 

but sparsely settled, while the Third Ward was under- 
going the process of development. Samuel Swain and 
Walter Laing had divided the land south of Swain Street 
into building lots, opened up Swain, Linden, Locust and 
Maple Streets, and through the agency of the old Home 
and Cottage Building Associations, were rapidly selling 
the land. The old W^ood Street and Otter Street 
(Mohican Hall), school buildings, had been erected and 
many of the boys of that generation, from all over the 
town, received their elementary training within the walls 
of the latter building. 

The old Pennsylvania Railroad freight depot stood on 
the east side of the tracks, just above the passenger 
depot, with a frontage on Pond Street. Wm. H. P. Hall 
was freight agent, and occupied a frame office attached 
to the southern end of the building. Somewhere between 
it and the passenger station was a foot bridge, which 
passed over the top of the tracks, with steps leading up on 
both sides. J. Merrick Brown was ticket agent at the 
passenger depot and also looked after the baggage de- 
partment, as well as the Adams' Express business. Along 
the race, just opposite the depot, on the west side of the 
tracks, was a frame house occupied by a noted character. 
Jack Kelly, or more commonly known as "Rabbit Eggs," 
and his associate "Poll Scott." Farther up towards AIul- 
berry Street stood a row of small houses called "Rotten 
Row," or "Bed Bug Row," and back of them, along the 
mill race stood another house or two. Along the track 
in front of "Bed Bug Row," were located the water tanks 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad. But two tracks passed 
through the town and the course of the railroad ran 
along the old roadbed just back of Otter Street. Gates 
had not yet been placed at the Mill Street crossing, but a 
flagman was on duty. Accidents frequently occurred and 
many men and boys were killed in attempting to steal 
fruit from the moving trains. 

The grist mill which now stands in ruins near the cor- 
ner of Mill and Pond Streets was operated with water 
power, which produced a current in the basin below, 
which furnished a rendezvous for Bristol's famous her- 
ring. As many as fifteen dip-nets were often in use at 



262 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

one time and what a happy time it was, when a school of 
herring came up the basin attracted by the current. 
Twenty-five or thirty and sometimes fifty at a dip, was 
an occasional occurrence. The old saw mill was also a 
place of interest, with its long incline running down to 
the log pound in the basin below. The boys of that 
period found pleasure in watching the logs pulled up 
the incline into the mill, and then, when they were in 
position, through the kindness of the sawyer, Thomas 
Harrison, were allowed to ride forward and backward 
on the carrier frame, while the saw ploughed its way 
through the log. 

On the south side of Mill Street, at the junction of the 
railroad and the street, stood a brick house occupied by 
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sutch. Between the house and the 
railroad tracks was a pair of steps leading down to the 
tow path below. On the other side at the northwest 
intersection of the track and the street, Charles Osmond 
ran a bakery, and at the end of his property another pair 
of steps ran down to the towpath. When the crossing 
was blocked, the travel was diverted, passing down the 
steps, under the railroad bridge, by way of the towpath 
and up the steps on the other side. Adjoining the home 
of Mr. and Mrs. Sutch was a tin shop, the proprietor of 
which was Courtland Lynn. On the corner next to the 
race stood a blacksmith shop and its tenant may have 
been a man named Craven. On the other side of the 
railroad between the Owl Club and the canal, was a 
wagon road running down the hill underneath the old 
railroad to a canal stable situated near the overflow. One 
night, shortly after the borough had purchased its new 
Silsby steam fire engine, this stable caught fire, and in 
going down the hill the smoke stack struck the l^ridge 
and it broke off, so that the steamer was run that night 
with a barrel for a smoke stack. It proved a disastrous 
fire and several mules were burned to death. 

The old forge was standing on the east side of the 
tracks near the Otter Street school building. It was in 
operation only a short time during this period, and some 
of the machinery was eventually sold to the rolling mill, 
which was then operated by Nevegold & Schiede. Be- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 263 

tween the forge and the canal bridge stood two or three 
small houses. Modus Stroble, a sturdy type of our early 
German settlers, conducted a harness making establish- 
ment in the property now occupied by the Owl Club. 
William Blackwood ran a bakery at the corner of Bath 
and Otter Streets. Israel Tomlinson occupied the old 
stone house at the west corner of Bath and Otter Streets. 
Wilson Closson was proprietor of the Closson House. 

The Bath Springs Hotel was still standing, being still 
in use for summer boarders. Jared Hellings was the pro- 
prietor. A bath house stood in the mill pond and a 
pavilion still remained near the famous spring. Near 
the creek was a bowling alley, which burned to the 
ground one night before the fire department could render 
assistance. Occasional excursions still came up on the 
boat, some bringing music with them. 

Baseball occupied the attention of Bristol's sporting 
men just as it does today. The old "Athletics" played 
on a lot between Washington and Lafayette Streets. 
Later, Simon's field, opposite the Bristol Cemetery, was 
leased. It was here that baseball saw its greatest de- 
velopment. The old Keystone Club was almost invinci- 
ble. Mixed clubs, composed of Bristol and Burlington 
players struggled with the Keystone again and again for 
supremacy. It was during these struggles that the 
curved ball was brought out, which made such a revolu- 
tion in baseball circles. The Jerseymen brought the 
curved ball over from Burlington and the names of 
Bottle Burr, Frank Schuyler and Godie Brotherton are 
fresh in memor}- today. 

An amusing incident occurred during this period of 
baseball history. The laws of the game were changed so 
that the pitcher in throwing a ball must keep his arm 
below his hip. One of the pitchers of the Bristol team 
was Mr. Dickie, who was a local manufacturer. He 
violated the rule so often, that the umpire was obliged to 
warn him, saying: "Get your hand down, Mr. Dickie!" 
This expression seemed to make a humorous impression 
upon the youthful minds and it became a by-word. 
Wherever Mr. Dickie went he heard this expression. The 
small boys would meet his carriage at the Mill Street 



264 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

crossing and follow it down Otter Street to the ball 
grounds, shouting at the top of their voices : "Get your 
hand down, Air. Dickie !" 

It was during this period that Patchem Flynn, who 
afterward became a pitcher for the local team, learned to 
pitch a curved ball. John Tyrol, Vivian Potts and many 
other boys of this period became adepts in the same line, 
and soon the curved ball became a feature in local ama- 
teur as well as professional baseball circles. The ball 
field was subsequently removed to the Fourth Ward, 
where, on one occasion, "Billy Downing," the pitcher of 
the local team, while at the bat, was struck in the temple 
by an inshoot, knocking him senseless, and putting an 
end to his baseball aspirations, for he played little after 
that occasion. Mr. Downing is still living and conducts 
a flour and feed business on Mill Street. 

The circuses of these days traveled in wagons on the 
road, and what fun it was for the boys to arise early in 
the morning and meet the wagons at Otter Creek bridge. 
The bridge was a weak structure and the elephants were 
taken down the bank and waded across the creek. The 
tent wagons always arrived first. Later in the morning 
the circus proper would arrive. Stopping on South Otter 
Street they would form in line and parade through the 
town to the lot on which the tents had been erected. On 
one occasion, the band wagon was drawn by forty horses, 
driven by one man. It was considered a wonderful feat, 
and was talked over in the town for many days after- 
ward. The circuses of this period seemed better than 
they are today, because the clown was a more important 
part of the show. Perhaps many of our readers will re- 
member McGinley's Circus and Cole's Circus, both of 
which made yearly visits to the town. Dan Gardiner was 
the greatest leaper that Bristol people have ever seen and 
the number of horses, camels and elephants he could leap 
over, at the same time turning a double somersault in 
the air, was wonderful to behold. 

The tem])erance question was agitating the minds of 
the people and outdoor meetings were held in the old 
grove, which was situated on Pond vStreet above De\\'itt's 
greenhouses. An orator named William A. Lafifertv was 



A HISTORY Of BRISTOL BOROUGH. 265 

prominent in the temperance work. One evening a hotel 
keeper signed the pledge and the next day the liquor from 
his hotel was poured out on the hill adjoining Dr. Pur- 
sell's drug store. Meetings were also held in Cabeen's 
Hall. A strong branch of the Catholic T. A. B. Society 
was in existence and temperance meetings were 
frequently held in St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church, 
which were largely attended. 

Bunker Hill rose out of the marsh in majestic splendor. 
It was situated just back of the old forge, and a remnant 
of it exists today. At one time it was thought a paper 
mill would be erected thereon. A well was sunk, l>ut for 
some reason the work was abandoned. Later, when the 
Pennsylvania Railroad changed its roadbed to its present 
location. Bunker Hill was purchased and the earth used 
for the road's embankment. For several years a man 
named Fiddle and his wife, lived on the side of the hill 
in an old canal boat. He dealt in rags, bones and old 
iron and kept a large fiock of geese. Mrs. Fiddle was 
quick tempered and would often get a gun and make the 
boys run, when she could stand their conduct no longer. 
On the south side of the hill, there was a favorite spot 
where the boys liked to bathe, and in winter time the 
north side made a delightful coasting ground. When the 
ice on the marsh was in good condition, the impetus 
secured from the ride down the hill would carry the coast- 
ers half way across to the overflow. One night, after the 
canal boat home had been vacated by its occupants, it 
was set on fire. A snow storm was raging at the time 
and it made a beautiful sight. In fact, such a vivid im- 
pression did it make upon the memories of those who 
lived at this period, that today, whenever they indulge in 
reminiscences, the Bunker Hill fire is always mentioned. 

Bristol in these days, had two brass bands and a drum 
corps. The latter was first organized in connection with 
H. Clay Beatty Post No. 73, G. A. R., and met weekly 
for practice in Henry Rue's carpenter shop on Otter 
Street. The T. A. B. Band met in the upper store of the 
building adjoining Harry Vanhorn's (A. Petty) black- 
smith shop on the same street. The Washington Band, 
which was one of the very best bands the town ever had. 



266 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

was organized in about 1879, in the room in W'^ashington 
Hall, now occupied by H. Clay Beatty Post, G. A. R., but 
then used by a social organization called the Washing- 
ton Assembly. Later the band met in the upper story of 
the hose house of the Bristol Hosiery Mills' Fire Brigade, 
on Buckley Street. This building was afterward moved 
to the corner of the Beaver Dam Road and Buckley 
Street, and turned into a residence. The services of the 
Washington Band were in great demand, and during the 
Garfield-Hancock campaign it filled several important en- 
gagements. The band was under the leadership of John 
Cotshott, who was a cornet player of rare ability. Among 
the surviving members are Alexander Watson, Joshua 
Townsend, Patrick Morris and Thomas Keating. The 
band was in existence about ten years. 

A review of the business places on Mill Street will 
probably prove interesting reading to many. Jacob Mc- 
Brien conducted a harness making shop where Mcll- 
vaine's bottling establishment now stands. William 
Terneson was the proprietor of a shoe store at the corner 
of Mill and Pond Streets. John Bostwick's photograph 
gallery was in the building now occupied by Jacob Win- 
ders. Cabeen and Beatty ran a store on the opposite cor- 
ner and the hall in the second story, then known as 
Cabeen's Hall, was in the zenith of its popularity. Mr. 
and Mrs. Tom Thumb, Commodore Nut, Professor Wey- 
man the magician, and Blind Tom, have all performed on 
its platform. On one occasion a traveling mesmerist 
came to town and gave a series of exhibitions in the hall. 
He was a clever performer and took his subjects from 
the audience, putting them through all sorts of laughable 
stunts. The exhibitions, however, raised a howl of pro- 
test, but jievertheless the hall was packed every night. 
Uncle Amos Lippincott conducted a tobacco shop, sand- 
witched in between PI. S. Rue's residence and Ruby's five 
and ten cent store. John H. Wood was in business 
where Harry Smith now is, at the corner of Mill and 
Wood Streets. The lot on the southeast corner was un- 
occupied and was a rendezvous for every traveling show 
that came along. It was here in a side show, where many 
Bristol people first saw the fantoscope, sword swallow- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 267 

ing, feats in magic and ventriloquism. Traveling medi- 
cine men also occupied the lot and during the summer 
there was hardly a night when some "faker" was not per- 
forming upon it. The boys of this period will recall 
Johnnie Steen, the bootblack man, who was perhaps the 
foremost among them. Old Mr. Pennington kept a store 
in Joseph Vansant's property next to "The Bristol." 
Louis Hoguet was a druggist, having been succeeded in 
later years by E. C. Erthal. Nathan Tyler's clothing 
store stood on the site where the Family Theatre now 
stands. Over in front of the Bristol House, now occupied 
by Charles Rommell, stood a high flag pole, owned by 
the borough, and when the new steam fire engine was 
purchased by Fire Company No. i, the firemen used to 
test it by trying to throw a stream over the top of the 
pole. The postofifice was on Mill Street, next to Tyler's 
clothing store and Jessie Miers was postmaster. Dr. 
Howard Pursell conducted a drug store, as he does today, 
at the corner of Mill and Cedar Streets. 

John McOwen kept a shoe store in the building now 
occupied by Kidd's dining room. Charles Woolman 
occupied an old building which stood on the site of Weis- 
blatt's store. Rogers Brothers operated the Bristol Mills. 
In an old building adjoining Cabeen & Beatty (Bell), 
William Broadnax was in business and the Louderbough 
sisters conducted a store on the opposite side of the street. 
Samuel Scott occupied the store now owned by William 
Girton, and W. H. P. Hall lived in the dwelling now occu- 
pied by W. M. Downing. Hibbs Goforth kept a store 
next door in a building later occupied by George L. Horn 
as a residence, and Wm. Blackwood had removed from 
the corner of Mill and Otter Streets to the building next 
door. On the other side of the street, in the dwelling 
now occupied by H. S. Rue, his father, Samuel Rue, re- 
sided and conducted the undertaking business. Charles 
Douglass was in the tin business where the Chinese 
laundry now is, and next door a store was kept by a 
Mrs. Gear. H. G. Peters was in the drug business in 
the Allen building, where Wollard's shoe store is located, 
and George Allen was in business in the store now run 
by Johnson Brothers. Joseph Foster conducted a jewelry 
18 



268 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Store on the opposite corner and next door, in the build- 
ing now used as an ofifice by the Bristol Gas Light Com- 
pany, a hardware store was run by a Mr. Thomas, who 
was the father of Jessie O. Thomas. Mrs. J. M. Brown 
was in business next door and next door to Mrs. Brown's, 
Charles Ahlee conducted a candy store. Mr. Gear had 
a shoe store in the little building later used by the Bristol 
Courier and next door was the residence and adjoining 
thereto the butcher shop of Hazel Hibbs. On the oppo- 
site side of the street, in the McMullen building, a Airs. 
Hamilton kept a store. Frank N. Booz kept a lamp store 
where Mr. Roper lives, and ran an oil route. John M. 
Callanan kept a toy store and news agency where Whit- 
aker's shoe store now is. On the other side Brown's 
millinery store was a popular place, and in the adjoining 
building, Harry Bradfield conducted a music store. Next 
door but one, in the "Ark" building, a store was run by a 
Mrs. Jewitt. Jesse Jackson kept a candy store where 
Claud Harris is now in business, and Richard Trudgen 
was in the furniture business next door, where the news 
agency is now established. Dr. E. J. Groom occupied 
his residence next door, and down the hill, back of Dr. 
Pursell's drug store, was a keg factory, operated by 
Joseph Wood. This building was destroyed by fire. Mrs. 
McCorkle kept a millinery store on the east corner of 
Mill and Cedar Streets and Joseph Kinsey ran the hard- 
ware store where the Wright Brothers now conduct their 
business. Thomas Barnard was proprietor of the tin 
shop now owned by L. J. Bevan. The Railroad House 
was conducted by W. H. H. Fine. Of all the business or 
professional men, who were located on Mill Street, three 
decades ago, oidy three remain in business today. 

The men of this period, in addition to those already 
mentioned, who occupied prominent places in the life of 
the borough were : Joshua Peirce, William H. Grundy, 
Charles E. Schiede, Charles W. Peirce, Joseph Peirce, 
William Kinsey, John S. Brelsford, James Foster, Joseph 
Foster, James lirudon, J. G. Krichbaum, Wilson Randall, 
Squire James Lyndell, J. Wesley Wright, James Wright, 
Charles E. Scott, William Bailey, Dr. \V. f. Potts, Henry 
M. \\>ight, W. H. P. Hall, Allan L. Garwood, Edmund 
Lawrence, Ellwood Doron, Michael Dougherty, Wm. H. 



A HISTORY O^ BRISTOL BOROUGH. 269 

Booz, R. W. Holt, T. B. Harkins, Joseph Sherman, Sym- 
ington Phillips, James M. Slack, Charles York, Jonathan 
Wright, A. L. Packer, Charles Wollard and Morton A. 
Walmsley. 

The Clark Insulated Wire Company. — About the year 
1878, Henry A. Clark came to Bristol, and purchasing a 
piece of land in the northern part of the town, facing on 
Beaver Dam Road, erected a building and began the 
manufacture of grossamer cloth. Mr. Clark was a chem- 
ist of unusual ability and his new enterprise met with 
success from the beginning. His plant was known far 
and wide as the Bristol Rubberoid Works. In his chemical 
experiments, Mr. Clark discovered a method of insulating 
wire, and needing additional capital in his business,organ- 
ized a corporation known as the Clark Insulated Wire 
Company. Lack of harmony among the stockholders, 
however, soon caused Mr. Clark to withdraw, and taking 
the secret of manufacture with him, the company soon 
failed. Mr. Clark was a man of pleasing personality, and 
enjoyed a wide circle of friends, who deeply regretted 
his removal from the town. 

Washington Street School House.— On June 26, 1878. 
there was an interesting event in Bristol at 3 o'clock in 
the afternoon, when there was a procession of school 
children, led by their teachers, from the Wood Street 
school to the corner of Washington and Pond Streets, 
where the corner stone of the new school building was 
laid with appropriate ceremonies. 

Professor Krichbaum. standing near the corner of the 
building, announced the opening ceremonv ; a prayer by 
Rev. Dr. Cunningham, of the Bristol M. E. Church, afte'r 
which the school sang a selection : "Live and Learn'" and 
Dr. Cunningham delivered a short address. After a song 
by the secondary school, Professor Krichbaum announced 
the contents of the copper box about to be deposited in 
the corner stone to be as follows : Names of the officers 
of the United States government, names of the State 
officers and of the Borough Council and Borough officers, 
names of the School Board and ministers of the different 
churches, names of the directors of the Farmers' National 
Bank, copies of the latest issues of the Bucks County 



270 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



Gazette, Bristol Observer, Bucks County Intelligencer 
and Doylestown Democrat and some old coins and frac- 
tional currency. 

The box was then deposited, after a few remarks by 
Professor Krichbaum. 

At a meeting of the Public School Board, held May 10, 
1877, it was decided to build a new school house in the 
upper end of the town, on a lot recently purchased of 
Ell wood Doron, at a price of $1,600, and a committee 
com])osed of John W. Bailey, W. H. Hall and Dr. John 




WASHINGTON 



STREET I'L'liLIC .SCHOOL. 



\\ ard, was appointed to make all neccssarv inquiry as to 
the cost of erecting a suitable building of brick or stone. 
This committee visited three school houses in Camden, 
X. J., and recommended that the board use as its model 
the Central school house, of that city. The plans were 
drawn and bids asked for. Twelve bids were received, 
but all were rejected because the amounts were in excess 
of that wliicli the board had decided to expend. At the 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 2/1 

next meeting the committee submitted a plan which 
they thought would lessen the cost of construction, but it 
was rejected. A new committee was appointed consisting 
of John S. Brelsford, John Ward and Joseph H. Foster, 
to confer with the architect and have his plans modified. 
The new plan provided for a two-story school house con- 
taining four rooms, which was adopted by the board. 
The contract was awarded to F. P. Crichton, at a cost of 
$6,529, the building to be of stone. The board appointed 
E. C. Brudon, J. W. Bailey and W. H. Hill as a building 
committee, to superintend the construction of the new 
school house. It was later decided to install an improved 
system of ventilation at a cost of $315. The building was 
completed in December and dedicated on Friday, Janu- 
ary 3rd, 1879, with appropriate ceremonies. It was opened 
for school purposes on Monday morning, January 6th, 
with the following corps of teachers : First Primary, 
Maggie Stewart ; Second Primary, Ellie M. Turner ; 
Third Primary, Emily H. Stackhouse ; Secondary, No. 2, 
Sarah J. Repsher. 

(The author was in the procession of school children, which 
marched to the site of the new building and participated in the 
corner stone exercises, and later was selected as one of the boys to 
place crayon drawings upon the blackboards at the time of the 
dedication of the building.) 

An Exciting Election; Ballot Box Stolen. — Bristol has 
been the scene of many political fights, but none have so 
inflamed the public mind or lingered longer in memory, 
than the one here related. 

"As a result of the fight of the Young Democracy of 
Bristol to obliterate the 'Ring Combine,' a sensational 
episode took place on Saturday, September 21, 1878, at 
the delegate election which was held in the town hall, an 
occurrence which is frequently referred to even to this 
day. It was a battle of ballots and terminated in the theft 
of the ballot box. 

"The Young Democracy and their opponents locked 
horns with a vengeance and from 4 o'clock in the after- 
noon until 8 o'clock in the evening, when the polls closed, 
the town hall was a centre of attraction to individuals of 



272 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

all parties. The contest was for the election of delegates 
to the county convention, which was to meet at Doyles- 
town on the Monday following. There were two sets of 
delegates voted for — one the old and the other the young 
Democracy. The ring fought desperately and contested 
the ground inch by inch, the first attempt being to 
exclude from the room two representatives of the Young 
Democracy, who were selected to act in the capacity of 
'visiting statesmen,' to see that their party's interests 
were carefully looked after. But a letter was produced 
from the County Chairman at Doylestown, saying that 
the Young Democracy w^ould be allowed such representa- 
tion, so the ring scored their first defeat. 

"When the polls closed it was apparent to everybody 
who had watched the progress of the fight, that the 
younger branch of the party was victorious. When the 
officers appointed by the County Committee to count the 
vote closed the doors, the two 'visiting statesmen' re- 
fused to leave the room although Constable Louderbough 
was called on by the ring to put them out. 

"One of the ring representatives on the election board 
said he would not count the vote while these men re- 
mained in the room, but as they showed no disposition to 
depart he became uneasy, and pretending to take a philo- 
sophical view of the matter, went to the back window and 
suddenly seizing the ballot box, thrust it out of the win- 
dow to one of his colleagues who was waiting to 
receive it. 

"As soon as the representatives of the Young Demo- 
cracy saw the game, they gave the alarm to their friends, 
who were gathered in force outside the building, them- 
selves jumping out the window. 

"As soon as the alarm was given the crowd outside 
hurried around to the back of the hall and before the 
ballot box thief got very far he was headed off by one 
of the Young Democracy. Other parties quickly coming 
up, in an instant the ballot box was taken from the cul- 
prit, and he was knocked to the ground. When he 
attempted to rise, twice in succession he was laid out 
again, but finally was taken in charge b}^ Policeman Sax- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 273 

ton, who took him to the Cottage Hotel (Silbert House), 
in a rather damaged condition. 

"The election officers, seeing the way the battle was 
raging, thought discretion the better part of valor and 
left the hall, in their haste blowing out the gas instead 
of turning it off. When the Young Democracy returned 
with the ballot box in their possession to count the vote, 
they could not find the ring representatives and pro- 
ceeded to count the votes themselves, which showed that, 
after allowing the ring (Old Democracy), to have the 
twenty-one votes which were missing (for careful tally 
had been kept, from which it was known that 304 votes 
had been polled), the Young Democracy had 172 votes 
and the ring only 132, thus giving the former forty 
majority. 

"When the vote had been counted and the Young 
Democracy were announced the victors, a large delega- 
tion of them got together and with fife and drum made a 
'royal progress' through the town, paying particular 
attention to stop before the residences of the ballot box 
thieves and others of the same party, and serenaded them 
with their fine instrumental music, accompanied by vocal 
strains of very significant sentiments. 

"The excitement continued until after midnight, and 
all the next day groups of men were to be seen upon the 
streets, discussing the proceedings of the night before 
and upon all hands, the action of the 'ring' in stealing the 
ballot box was condemned in the strongest manner." 

Although thirty-two years have passed since this occur- 
rence took place, yet the incidents of that night are fresh 
in memory today, and although many battles with the 
ballot have been fought since that time, yet the battle of 
that memorable day in September, 1878, stands out pre- 
eminently as the most exciting ever waged in the bor- 
ough. (Taken from the Bucks County Gazette.) 

The Providence Knitting Mill. — The Providence Knit- 
ting Mill, erected in 1879, and owned and operated by 
Mrs. Clara Appleton, adjoined the property of the Bris- 
tol Woolen Mill Company, on Buckley Street, and was 
engaged in the same branch of industry. On the night 



274 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



of March 4, 1895, it was burned to the ground, being one 
of the most disastrous fires Bristol has ever witnessed. 
The weather was bitter cold and the wind blowing a gale. 
Pieces of the burning hosiery were carried by the wind 
over to the eastern section of the town, and at one time 
five or six houses were on fire. The carpet mill, however, 
acted as a bulwark of protection for the threatened sec- 
tion, and saved it from destruction. 

Bath Street Public School. — During the month of June, 
1880, the public school board purchased from Howell & 




BATH STREET PUBLIC SCHOOL. 

Harris, a lot with a frontage of 200 feet, on Bath Street, 
above Buckley, for the sum of $1,500.00. It was decided 
that the building to be erected thereon should be of 
stone, hammer-dressed broken range, similar to the front" 
of the Washington Street building, and should have a 
frontage of 86 feet and a depth of 56 feet. It was to be 
two stories in height and divided into eight class rooms. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROLTGH. 275 

The building committee consisted of Edward C, 
Brudon, William Randall, Chas. S. Wollard and W. H. P. 
Hall. Instead of employing an architect, the board de- 
cided to employ Chas. S. Wollard as superintendent, he 
to have general supervision over the building and to 
receive a salary of $3.00 per day. The plans for the 
building w^ere drawn by Mr. Wollard. Permission from 
the court was obtained by the board to borrow $10,000, 
and bonds to that amount were sold. 

The work on the new building began in August, 1880. 
In August, 1881, the building committe reported the 
building completed and five rooms ready for occupancy. 
The school house was dedicated with appropriate exer- 
cises, on Thursday afternoon, September i, 1881, at 2 
o'clock. The president of the board, W. H. P. Hall, 
called the meeting to order and William Kinsey, Esq., 
who was secretary of the first school board elected in 
Bristol Borough, was called to preside and Daniel Mun- 
cey was elected secretary. Mr. Kinsey read a portion of 
Scripture and Professor J. G. Krichbaum, principal of 
the high school, offered prayer. Jacob S. Young, secre- 
tary of the board, read a historical sketch of the local 
public schools and was followed by County Superintend- 
ent W. W. Woodrufif, in an address, during which he 
complimented the citizens for having the best school 
house in the county. Hugh B. Eastburn, ex-county super- 
intendent; Professor J. G. Krichbaum, Charles S. Bailey 
and Wm. Kinsey, Esq., also delivered addresses. After 
the exercises were over, the building was thrown open 
ior inspection. 

The building Avas opened for school purposes on Sep- 
tember 5, 1881, five rooms being occupied. The teachers 
who first taught in the Bath Street building are as fol- 
lows : Secondary Department, Maggie Stewart ; Primary 
A Department, Hannah Yonkers ; Primary B Depart- 
ment, Lizzie G. Tomlinson ; Primary C Department, Ella 
M. Turner; Ungraded Department, Ephraim Moss. The 
total cost of the building was $15,444.18. 

A Republican Wigwam. — In the fall of 1880, during 
the Garfield-Hancock political campaign, the Republican 



276 A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 

party erected a large wigwam on the then vacant lot at 
the southeast corner of Mill and Wood Streets. Many 
prominent men spoke in the building and large crowds 
were attracted to the meetings. Hon. B. F. Gilkeson, 
William H. Grundy, Joshua Peirce and Charles E. 
Scheide, were the recognized leaders of the Republican 
party at that period of the town's history. 

Memorable Freshet and Ice Gorge. — On Saturday eve- 
ning, February 12, 1881, the ice in the Delaware River 
broke up about 9 o'clock, and for two hours ran rapidly 
down the stream, filling the river from shore to shore. 
Later, when the ice above Trenton reached Bristol, it 
jammed up on the bar and flats between Bristol and 
Burlington, the gorge extending up the river some dis- 
tance above the Hollow Creek. On Sunday afternoon the 
ice above the Hollow Creek broke, and with such force 
that it cut a gully through the orchard of Hancock's 
farm on Burlington Island, and the imprisoned water, 
which had been backed up by the ice gorge, on the low 
lands of the Manor and into the roadway near Landreth's 
seed farm, found vent and rushed across Hancock's farm 
into the channel back of the island. The freshet which 
caused the ice to break up was the greatest since 1857. 
The water covered all the wharves and inundated the 
residences along the river front and canal basin, in many 
cases flooding the kitchens and doing considerable dam- 
age. The gorge held fast for one whole week, and on the 
next Saturday evening broke and disappeared, leaving 
the cliannel free of everything except small masses of 
floating ice. 

The Pennsylvania Railroad Changes Its Course. — 

About the year 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company 
changed the course of its roadbed through the town 
south of Mill Street, moving it eastward about fifty 3^ards, 
and increasing the number of tracks from two to four. 
An island which stood in the marsh, known as Bunker 
Hill, was purchased by the company and the earth from 
the hill used in the construction of the embankment 
for the course of the new road. Subsequently, the water 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOI. BOROUGH. 277 

troughs were installed at South Bristol, which enabled 
the locomotives to take water while running. 

Opening of the Streets. — The borough limits have been 
extended from time to time, as the increase of population 
required. Otter Street (the turnpike road), was an 
original highway, but was not regarded as a street. Bath. 
Street, otherwise known as the terminus of the old New- 
town road and as part of the turnpike in its intersection 
with Otter, was opened and widened in 1809 by private 
individuals, but without the co-operation of the proper 
borough authorities, who finally accepted it in 1821. The 
Beaver Dam Road, otherwise known as Beaver Street, 
was surveyed in 1821. The borough limits had mean- 
while been extended eastward to Adams Hollow and 
westward to the mill pond in 1801. A further addition 
was made in 1852, and the boundaries then established 
are those of the present, embracing an area of about 450 
acres. It is worthy of notice that the built up portion of 
the town was first extended west of the mill race, about 
the years 181 1-25, as shown by the improvement of Bath 
Street in 1809, and of Otter a few years later. The con- 
struction of the turnpike probably influenced this. There 
was considerable building activity from 1833 to 1855. the 
period of prosperity incident to the canal trade. Property 
having a river front was in demand at this time ; and 
hence the opening of Franklin and Penn Streets from 
Radcliffe to low water mark, in 1836. Wilson Street was 
opened in 1849. Pond Street was extended from the Wal- 
nut to Lafayette in 1855. Wood Street, which was con- 
tinued easterly from Walnut in 1766, upon land vacated 
by John Hutchinson, was further opened to Washington 
in 185 1. Cedar Street was extended from Walnut to 
Franklin in 1849, ^^^^ thence to Lafayette in 1851. Wood 
and Pond were further laid out in 1874. Franklin and 
Penn Streets were opened in 1855. Dorrance Street was 
opened from low water mark to Pond Street in 1855, ^^^ 
thence to Canal Street in 1881. Washington and Lafay- 
ette Streets were laid out from the river to Pond Street in 
1855, and continued in 1874. Jefferson Avenue was 
opened in 1873. Buckley Street was laid out in 1847, 



278 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Mi'fiflin in 1853; Spruce, Race, Swain and Locust in 1874; 
Linden, Maple, Green and Pearl in 1880, by the borough 
authorities, although opened by private individuals in 
185 1. The survey for Garden, Mansion, Spring, Summer, 
and Corson Streets, and the extension of Jefferson Ave- 
nue, west of the canal, was made in 1884. 

The Roller Skating Craze. — The roller skating craze 
struck Bristol during the winter of 1884-5. A new maple 
floor was laid in the lower story of Mohican Hall, on 
Otter Street, and a skating rink opened in charge of a 
man named Bull. In the spring of 1885, James Wright 
erected a large roller skating rink on Wood Street near 
Penn. For a short time it proved a popular pastime, but 
the excitement soon subsided and the building was re- 
modeled and opened as a theatre. Today the old build- 
ing is used as a moving picture show house. 

A Memorable Blizzard. — In March, 1888, occurred one' 
of the Avorst blizzards Bristol has ever known. Rain be- 
gan to fall on Sunday morning and continued throughout 
the day and evening. Sometime during the night the 
shifting of the wind brought on a fierce snow storm, 
which increased in severity, the wmd blowing a perfect 
gale. When our citizens awoke on Monday morning, 
they found the town literally buried under an avalanche 
of snow. In many places the snow drifts reached a height 
of ten and fifteen feet. Traffic on the railroad was blocked ; 
the telegraph and telephone wires were down, and for 
two or three days the town was completely cixt off from 
all outside communication. 

High School Building. — At a meeting of the public 
school board, held July 6, 1893, the supply committee 
which consisted of B. C. Foster, E. H. Foster, R. W. Holt, 
Neal J. Mcllvaine and Geo. W. Louderbough, was ap- 
pointed to consider the expediency of increasing the 
school accommodations and to take the preliminary steps, 
if thought advisable, to erect a suitable building at the cor- 
ner of Wood and Mulberry Streets, for high school and 
grammar school purposes especially, and to report at a 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOr. BOROUGH. 



279 



subsequent meeting the results of their deliberations with 
such recommendations as their judgment might approve. 
At the meeting of December 7, 1893, the committee re- 
ported that, in their judgment the time had come to build 
a new school house for the accommodation of the high 
school and grammar grades especially, and that a build- 
ing be erected and made ready for occupancy by Septem- 
ber I, 1894. By action of the board the committee was 
empowered to procure plans and estimates for the erec- 




BKISTOL HIGH SCHOOL. 



tion of the new building and report at the next meeting. 
The building, as originally decided rapon, was to contain 
not less than eight class rooms, with a hall and lecture 
room on the third fioor. 

February i, 1894, the committee reported that there 
was not sufficient room on the lot at the corner of Wood 
and Mulberry Streets to erect an eight-room building 



28o A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

and suggested the erection of a building containing six 
class rooms, a directors' room, superintendent's office and 
assembly room on the third floor, and presented plans for 
such a building together with estimated cost, for the con- 
sideration of the board. They also recommended that the 
board obtain the services of an experienced architect and 
suggested the name of S. A. Brouse, of Trenton. 

The plans submitted by the committee were approved 
by the board and the committee instructed to go on with 
the work according to the plans. Mr. Brouse was em- 
ployed as architect to prepare the plans and specifications 
and supervise the work, his remuneration to be 3 per 
cent, of the cost of the building. The bids were opened on 
Tuesday, April 10, 1894, and were as follows: 

Ernest Lawrence $i5.S25 

Chas. S. Wollard 16.357 

Wright & De Groot 16,764 

Angus C. York 17,190 

The contract was awarded to the lowest bidder. 
Ground was broken on Wednesday morning, April 18, 
1894. Bonds to the amount of $15,000 were sold to cover 
the cost of erecting the building. The heating contract 
was awarded to Thomas Craig, his bid being $1,690. The 
building when completed cost $15,793.50, without the 
heating and furnishings. Saturday afternoon, November 
10, 1894, at 2 o'clock, the dedicatory exercises were held 
in the assembly room of the new building. Dr. N. C. 
Schaffer. State Superintendent of Public Schools ; W. H. 
Slotter, County Superintendent ; \\\ W. Woodrufif, ex- 
County Superintendent ; Matilda S. Booz, Borough 
Superintendent; John K. Wildman, President of School 
Board and John C. Maule, a member of Borough Council, 
all made appropriate addresses. At the close of the meet- 
ing the chairman of the building committee, B. C. Foster, 
in a short speech, handed the building over to the school 
board, and it was accepted by the president in behalf of 
the board. The pupils of the high school and grammar 
grades were present and took part in the exercises. Music 
was furnished by the Bristol Orchestra. Nearly 500 per- 
sons were in attendance. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 281 

Cost of the Building. 

Architect's Fee $524 50 

E. Lawrence. Contractor 1 5,793 50 

Craig, Heater 1,690 00 

Desks, Blackboards, etc 966 34 

Outhouses 619 50 

Gas Fixtures and Extra Plumbing 219 08 

Iron Fencing 457 10 

Flag Pole 12445 

Grading 103 03 

Pavement and Material 309 76 

Roofing Outhouses 117 94 

Graining Doors 5 00 



$20,930 20 



On April i, 1895, an additional bond issue of $4,000 was 
sold to meet the deficit in the total cost of the new build- 
ing". The building' was occupied in November, 1894, by 
the removal of the high school and grammar grades from 
the Bath Street building. The primary grade rooms in 
the old building on Wood Street were also moved into 
the new building and the secondary grade from the 
Friends' school building on Cedar Street to the old build- 
ing on A\'ood Street. 

St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church. — In November, 
1885. a disagreement in the Sunday School of St. James' 
Protestant Episcopal Church, led to the withdrawal of the 
superintendent, fourteen teachers and a large number of 
scholars. On Advent Sunday, November 29, a new Sun- 
day School was organized in Washington Hall, corner of 
Radclifife and Walnut Streets. Forty communicants 
joined in an application to Bishop Stevens for permission 
to organize another Parish, but consent thereto was 
refused. 

The Sunday School prospered from the beginning. On 
January 2, 1886, St. Paul's was adopted as a name for 
the mission, and on St. Paul's Day, January 25, 1886, the 
school was removed to Evans' (now Bell's) Hall, corner 
of Mill and Pond Streets. During the first winter the 
Mission enjoyed the services of a clergyman, until pro- 
hibited by the Diocesan authority. 



282 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



Owing to the steady growth of the school, a building 
became a necessity, and in 1891 a lot was purchased on 
Jefferson Avenue, costing $3,750. The financial depres- 
sion succeeding that year delayed the carrying out of 
plans to build until 1895, when a contract was signed for 
the erection of a building to cost $1,648. This, with 
extras, not including furniture, amounted to $1,940.50 
upon the completion of the building. The building was 
formally opened on October 6, 1895. The estimated value 
of the property was about v$7,ooo. 















, 


K \ y 
















"si /■ 

vl ^' 


- / 


ft 




1 


1^^ "'■■ -4ii 


Pi 


tf 


-^ _^ Jw^ :L_iJ'j.';t 


1 







ST. PAUIv'S P. E. CHURCH AND PARISH HOUSE. 



In the winter of 1899-1900, another appeal for recogni- 
tion was made to the Convocation of Germantown, but 
It was found it was not Canonical to do so. The Convo- 
cation, however, favorably recommended the matter to 
the standing committee. A hearing was given by the 
Standing Committee and at the request of Bishop Whita- 
ker, the committee appeared before him for a conference, 
with the result that on May 9, 1900, official recognition 
was granted and the name of St. Paul's Mission was 
placed upon the list of recognized missions of the diocese. 

Rev. Thomas J. Garland was appointed by the Bishop 
as Minister-in-charge, and the first regular service and 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL. BOROUGH. 283 

administration of the Holy Communion was on Sunday, 
May 13. It was a most impressive service, being the 
culmination of fourteen years' hopes and prayers. Regu- 
lar services were instituted from June i. During the 
summer the church building was enlarged by the addition 
of a chancel and a room for the infant class. 

The committee in charge of the mission, when the min- 
ister was appointed, was Wm. V. Leach (who had been 
acting as lay reader during all the previous years of its 
existence), B. F. Gilkeson, Thomas B. Harkins, Henry 
Lombaert, Arthur W. Doust, John Lawrence, Mrs. A. 
Weir Gilkeson. A Weir Gilkeson, who had been the 
superintendent of the Sunday School, from the time of its 
beginning in 1885. died in July, 1899, just one year before 
the mission received official recognition. 

In April, 1903, Rev. Garland resigned, and in June of 
the same year. Rev. J. Kennedy Moorhouse was 
appointed deacon in charge from July i. In August, 1903, 
a plan was adopted to pay off a debt of $3,100 resting on 
the property. On Easter Day, 1904, the amount of $1,100 
was raised and before the following Easter the' whole 
indebtedness was paid off. The first steps were taken in 
February, 1905, to organize the Mission into a Parish. 
After several setbacks the charter was finally passed by 
the Standing Committee of the Diocese, and at 2.30 P. M., 
Wednesday, May 3, 1905, at the One Hundred and Twen- 
ty-first Annual Convention of the Diocese, the charter 
and proposed amendments were approved and the church 
admitted into union with the Convention. 

In August, 1908, ground was broken for a Parish House. 
On Sunday. February 14, 1909, the new Parish House 
was opened by a Missionary Service of the Sunday 
School, the Rev. Thos. J. Garland making the address. 
The building cost $5,000. In August, 1910, the Rev. J. 
Kennedy Moorhouse resigned, since which time the 
church has been without a stationed clergyman. 

Causes Which Led to the Organization of Fire Com- 
panies Nos. 3, 4 and 5. — In the summer of 1893, a fire 
occurred at the residence of Thomas Brooks on Garden 
Street, in which four persons lost their lives. The rail- 
19 



284 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

road crossings were blocked by a freight train and the 
fire companies, both of which were located in the First 
W^ard, were greatly delayed in reaching the conflagration. 
The possibility of what might happen to that section of 
the town, on the west side of the railroad, should a serious 
fire occur, and the fire companies be prevented from 
responding promptly, on account of the crossings being 
blockaded, caused the citizens of that section much seri- 
ous thought. It remained, however, for John T. Smith, 
a citizen of the Fourth Ward, to devolve a plan whereby 
the unprotected sections of the town could have adequate 
protection. His proposition was to organize a company 
in the Fourth Ward for local fire protection only. He 
sought and obtained the co-operation of Messrs. Wm. H. 
Grundy, Geo. A. Shoemaker and Joseph R. Grundy, and 
U]>on the suggestion of these latter gentlemen the plan 
was made to embrace the other two unprotected wards. 
Through the combined efforts of these four gentlemen 
the citizens of the three wards became interested in the 
project, which finally culminated in the organization of a 
fire company in each of the three wards, known respect- 
ively as Second Ward Hose Company, Third Ward Hose 
Company and Fourth Ward Hose Company. The Sec- 
ond Ward Company erected its hose house in the alley 
back of the south side of Jefferson Avenue, between Pond 
and Wood Streets ; the Third Ward Company built its 
house in the rear of Abraham Ettenger's yard, facing on 
Pearl Street ; while the home of the Fourth Ward Com- 
pany was located on Garden Street. Borough Council 
presented 500 feet of hose to each of the companies. Sub- 
scriptions were taken in the different wards and the 
money thus raised used to purchase hose crabs, except in 
the Fourth Ward, where the company was presented with 
a crab by Wm. H. Grundy & Co. 

For a period of several years the various companies en- 
joyed a quiet and modest existence. Then the progressive 
spirit possessed by the young members of the Third 
Ward Company, began to assert itself. A charter was 
obtained from the court and the name of the company 
changed to that which it now bears. Good Will Hose 
Company, No. 3. The property at the corner of Swain 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL, BOROUGH. 285 

and Pearl Streets was purchased and converted into a 
comfortable and commodious hose house. Borough 
Council presented the company with a Combination 
Chemical and Hose Wagon, and the members raised suffi- 
cient funds to purchase a one-horse hose wagon. The 
chemical wagon proving unsatisfactory, it was exchanged 
for a chemical engine. A pair of horses was procured by 
the company but the experiment was a costly one. 
Finally, with the consent of Borough Council, the chemi- 
cal engine and horses were sold and the proceeds used to 
purchase an up-to-date Automobile Combination Chemi- 
cal and Hose Wagon. The new apparatus was housed 
with appropriate ceremonies on Saturday afternoon, 
October i, 1910. Three years ago (1908), the old Second 
Ward Hose Company was reorganized and its name 
changed to the Enterprise Fire Company, No. 5. A char- 
ter was obtained and during the year 1909 the company 
erected a $7,000 hose house on Wood Street near Jeffer- 
son Avenue. Its membership has steadily increased and 
its efficiency is recognized by the whole community. 

The Fourth Ward Hose Company, like the other ward 
companies, no longer bears its original name, but is now 
known as the Beaver Fire Company, No. 4. Although 
not a chartered company, its members are enthusiastic 
firemen and are ever ready to respond to the call of duty. 

Borough Fire Department Organized. — By request of 
the Fire Committee of Borough Council, a meeting of 
the Fire Committee, with a committee from Bristol Com- 
pany No. I, and America H. H. & L. Co. No. 2, was held 
in July, 1894, and a set of rules and regulations providing 
for the election of a Chief Engineer and Assistant Engi- 
neer and the organization of a fire department for the 
borough was presented by the committee of No. i com- 
pany and unanimously approved. The committee also 
reported a uniform for the chief and his assistant, and at 
a subsequent meeting of the delegates, Norwood P. 
Chase, of No. i, was elected Chief Engineer and Thomas 
R. Vandegrift, of No. 2, Assistant Engineer of the Fire 
Department of Bristol Borough. This was followed by 
the installation of the Gamewell Fire Alarm System, 



286 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

which, under the care of Frank T. Chambers, has proven 
a valuable adjunct in the speedy extinguishment of fires, 
supplanting the former method of notification by mag- 
neto bell signals from the two fire houses to the water 
works. Since the organization of the Borough Fire De- 
partment two other companies, namely Good Will Hose 
Company No. 3 and Enterprise Fire Company No. 5, 
have taken out charters and become members of the 
department. A second assistant chief is now also elected. 

Death of Matilda Swift Booz.— Miss Matilda Swift 
Booz, Superintendent of the Bristol Public Schools, was 
stricken with apoplexy at a meeting of the school board, 
held in the directors' room in the high school building, on 
April 2, 1897, 3-"d died the next morning. Miss Booz 
was a self-made woman. She received her education in 
the Bristol schools and owed her advancement to the posi- 
tion she occupied at the time of her death to her own 
indefatigable labor and patient study. Ex-County Super-' 
intendent Hugh B. Eastburn, Esq., of Doylestown, writ- 
ing of her subsequent to her death, said : "The success- 
ive steps which she took and the promotions which she 
steadily earned were the logical results of her industry, of 
her perseverance, of the exercise of tact and discrimina- 
tion in the work given her to do, of a rare devotion to 
duty and of a constant endeavor to fulfill a high ideal." 
She was elected an assistant teacher in the Secondary 
school in the old school building on Wood Street, Aug- 
ust 9, 1865. In July, 1872, she was promoted to the prin- 
cipalship of the Girls' Grammar school, and on August 
14, 1873, became the assistant principal of the High 
School under Professor J. G. Krichbaum. In 1884 she was 
elected superintendent of the Bristol Schools, which posi- 
tion she held up to the time of her death. Miss Louise D. 
Baggs, the then principal of the High School, but since 
the death of Miss Booz, her successor as superintendent, 
paid the following beautiful tribute to her memory, in 
behalf of herself and teachers : 

"We bear testimony to her efificiency and faithfulness, 
ever giving of herself and her time most willingly; by her 
advice, helping; by her example, stimulating; by her kind 




MISS MATILDA SWIFT BOOZ. 
First Superintendent Bristol Public Schools. 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 287 

words, encouraging. Her own love of study and breadth 
of culture were quiet but potent factors in enthusing the 
, oft-time weary brains of others to more activity. Her 
strict integrity held up constantly such a high standard of 
living that intercourse with her inspired a striving after 
noble things. Her keen sense of justice often made the 
more hasty to halt, and taught them to hold judgment in 
abeyance until reason could look fairly on the subject 
from all sides. In her the children ever found an inter- 
ested friend, one who fully appreciated honest efifort but 
never exacted the impossible. As a woman and as super- 
intendent we loved, admired and respected her, and we 
feel that while today the world is poorer for her absence, 
yet it is much the richer for the time she tarried here." 

Memorial services were held in the assembly room of 
the High School building, on Monday evening, April 12, 
1897, at which were present directors, teachers, members 
of the Alumni Association and a few others connected 
with the schools. President of the School Board John K. 
Wildman was elected chairman and Miss Louise D. 
Baggs, secretary. Several addresses were made and a 
number of letters from prominent educators read, all of 
which bore testimony to her fidelity. Suitable and appro- 
priate resolutions were also adopted. Ex-County Super- 
intendent W. W. Woodruff, of West Chester, Pa., in 
closing his letter of eulogy, said : 

"Somewhere, I cannot tell you where, you will find 
these lines, as nearly as I can recall them : 

Were a star quenched on high, 

For ages would its light, , 

Still streaming downward from the sky, 

Fall on our mortal sight. 

So when a good man dies, 

For years beyond our ken, 
The light he leaves behind him lies 

Upon the paths of men. 

"This applies to our dear friend who has left us, and 
for a generation to come, Bristol will feel the influence 
of her life." 



288 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Miss Louise D. Baggs Elected Superintendent. — A 

meeting of the Bristol School Board was held on April 
26, 1897, for the purpose of electing a Borough Superin- 
tendent of Schools to fill the vacancy occasioned by the 
death of Miss Matilda S. Booz. All the directors were 
in attendance, twelve in number. On the first ballot Miss 
Louise D. Baggs was elected, receiving the unanimous 
vote of the board. It was a marked indication of the 
recognition of her merits by those who are qualified to 
judge. Miss Baggs is a graduate of the Philadelphia 
Normal School of the class of 1880. She taught seven 
years before she was chosen, in 1892, as Principal of the 
Bristol High School, and during her five years of active 
service in that position, she gave entire satisfaction as an 
earnest and competent instructor. She is well fitted for 
the office of superintendent, having fine intellectual 
ability, a high grade of scholarship, and admirable per- 
sonal qualities. She is still occupying the position (191 1), 
and the progress which the schools have made during her 
incumbency, is a splendid testimony to her qualification 
and competency. 



Revolutionary Skeletons Unearthed — 1903. — While the 
sexton of St. James' Protestant Episcopal Burying 
Ground, at Bristol, was digging a grave, he unearthed 
portions of several skeletons. Lying among the bones 
were a number of brass buttons of different varieties, 
such as were worn by British and American soldiers dur- 
ing the Revolution. One of the buttons bore a representa- 
tion of a crowned head, surrounded by a wreath of laurel. 
Above this was the inscription, "Georgius III, Rex, Dei 
Gratia," and underneath the date, 1774. The present site 
of St. James' burying ground was used in the past cen- 
tury as a temporary resting place for the victims of the 
Revolutionary battles. Several years ago a number of 
other momentoes of these long forgotten heroes were dug 
up in the same place. Charles Foster, of Bristol, at that 
time secured a piece of red cloth in a good state of 
preservation, which was part of the coat of a British 
soldier. 





MISS LOUISE D. BAGGS. 
Superintendent Bristol Public Schools. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 289 

B. Franklin Gilkeson. — The late Benjamin Franklin 
Gilkeson, for many years one of the leading attorneys 
of the Bucks County bar, and prominentl}'^ identified with 
the political affairs of his native county, was born in 
Bristol, Bucks County, August zt,, 1842, and spent his 
whole life here. 

His grandfather, Andrew W. Gilkeson, Esq., was born 
in Montgomery County, but was of Bucks County ances- 
tors, and spent most of his life in this county. His 
father, also named Andrew, was a lieutenant-colonel in 
the War of 1812, and prominently identified with the 
volunteer militia in the years immediately following the 
second war with Great Britain, and the family were 
among the early settlers of Pennsylvania. Andrew W. 
Gilkeson was a prominent attorney, being admitted to the 
Bucks County Bar April 29, 1840, and practicing for many 
years at Bristol. He took an active interest in the affairs 
of the county, and filled the office of prothonotary of the 
county for the term of 1854-7. He married Margaret M. 
Kinsey, of that borough, whose ancestors were among 
the early English settlers in Bucks County, her great- 
great-grandfather, Samuel Kinsey, having settled in 
Bristol Township in 1728. Andrew and Margaret M. 
(Kinsey) Gilkeson were the parents of four children, of 
whom Benjamin Franklin was the eldest and the late A. 
Weir Gilkeson, also a prominent attorney of Bristol, was 
the youngest. 

Benjamin F. Gilkeson was educated in the graded 
schools of Bristol and at the Academy of Hartsville. He 
studied law with the late Anthony Swain, of Bristol, and 
was admitted to the bar February 2, 1864, and at once 
engaged in practice at Bristol. Possessed of more than 
ordinary ability in the line of his profession, an earnest 
and careful student, his unflagging and indomitable will 
soon brought him to the front, and for twenty-five years 
prior to his death, which occurred in 1903, he was the 
leader of the Bucks County Bar, and represented vast 
corporate interests both in the county and elsewhere. 
Soon after his admission to the bar, he launched into the 
political arena, and was a prominent figure in the political 
councils of the county and state for many years. Reared 



290 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

in the Democratic faith, he was an early convert to the 
principles of the Republican party, and was for several 
years a colleague of Hon. Caleb N. Taylor, at that period 
a potent political factor in Bucks County and twice her 
Representative in Congress. 

Taylor and Gilkeson later became estranged, and the 
rising young attorney became the recognized leader of 
his party in the county, and held that position in local and 
State politics for many years. He served as the repre- 
sentative of his county in many State, National and Con- 
gressional conventions and also in the State Committee, 
of which he was for some years chairman. 

He was intimately associated with the leading states- 
men and politicians of his day, serving in the cabinet of 
Governor Daniel H. Hastings as commissioner of bank- 
ing, and taking an active part in State affairs for many 
years. 

He Avas second controller of the United States Trea- 
sury during the adrriinistration of President Harrison, 
and made an excellent record. He was prominent in the 
Masonic fraternity, and served as district deputy grand 
master for Bucks and Montgomery Counties. He was 
one of the trustees of the State Lunatic Asylum at Nor- 
ristown, and held many other positions of trust and 
honor. 

Mr. Gilkeson was twice married; first in 1870, to Char- 
lotte B. Jones, daughter of George B. Jones, of Pittsburg. 
She died in 1872, and he married (second), in 1874, Helen 
E. Pike, daughter of Samuel Pike, of Bristol, and they 
were the parents of three children : Franklin, a member 
of the Ijucks County Bar, and of the firm of Gilkeson & 
James, and two daughters, Helen and Ethel. CDavis' 
History of P)Ucks County.) 

Death of John K. Wildman. — On Monday morning, 
March 21, 1905, the community was startled by the report 
of the death of John K. Wildman. The deceased was a 
highly respected citizen and for eighteen years had held 
the ])osition of president of the local school board. He 
was affable in his manner, devoted to his work in con- 
nection with the schools, and many a boy and girl 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 29I 

received from him inspiration and encouragement, which 
proved of inestimable value to them in after life. As an 
illustration of his kindly qualities, on one occasion, after 
a young lady had graduated from the schools, he taught 
her stenography, giving his services gratuituously, and 
when his pupil became proficient, secured for her a posi- 
tion and later obtained an advance in her wages. Under 
Tiis careful attention the schools advanced to a lofty state 
of efficiency and usefulness. It was under his administra- 
tion that the present high school was established. It was 
his great ambition to build up a strong public school 
library. He loved good books and his intense desire to 
cultivate a similar taste among the boys and girls of our 
town, guided him always in the selection of books for the 
school library, which he started, and which at the time of 
his death numbered over 600 volumes. He was known 
hy all the pupils for he frequently visited the schools, and 
always had a few words for the children, praising what he 
knew to be good and encouraging honest effort, so that 
€ven the little ones felt free to speak to him by name 
when they met him on the street. He also took an active 
interest in town affairs and for several years was presi- 
dent of the Bristol Public Library. He was a Republican 
in politics and was generally called upon to preside over 
])ublic meetings held under the auspices of his party. The 
funeral services were held on the Thursday afternoon fol- 
lowing his death, when the relatives and friends of the 
deceased were present in large numbers. The school board 
delegated Director Doron Green to deliver an eulogy at 
the funeral, which duty was performed. On the following 
morning, in the presence of the immediate family and 
members of the school board, who acted as pall bearers, 
the body was interred in the Bristol Cemetery. William 
C. Peirce, a close friend of the deceased, read a chapter 
from the Bible and with sorrowing hearts, the directors 
lowered the body of their friend and companion down 
into his last resting place. 

On Friday evening, a public memorial service was held 
in the assembly room of the high school building, at 
which time a large number of men, women and school 
children gathered to pay their respects to the memory of 



292 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

one whom they all loved, and one who had unselfishly 
given his time and talents to the upbuilding of the public 
school system of the borough. Director Green was called 
upon to preside, after which eulogistic addresses were 
made by Miss Louise D. Baggs, Superintendent; John C. 
Maule, Charles E. Scott, W. F. Leedom, Howard I. 
James, Esq., Joseph R. Grundy, John C. Stuckert, John 
Angus. Resolutions of sympathy were adopted and sub- 
sequently the school board placed a memorial tablet, 
dedicated to the memory of the deceased, on the wall in 
the front vestibule of the high school building. 

Bristol Lodge, No. 970 B. P. O. Elks. — Bristol Lodge, 
No. 970, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, was 
instituted May 25, 1905. Its first officers were as fol- 
lows : Exalted Ruler, John J. Kilcoyne ; Esteemed Lead- 
ing Knight, Lewis T. Rodan; Esteemed Loyal Knight,. 
Frank T. Chambers; Esteemed Lecturing Knight, Wm. 
V. Leech ; Secretary, Doron Green ; Treasurer, Wm. K. 
Highland; Tyler, E. W. Minster; Trustees, Howard L 
James, Esq., Wm. B. Rogers, Jr., and John J. Tyrol. 
Three years after the organization of the lodge, the build- 
ing at the corner of Radclifife and Walnut Streets, known 
as the Beaver Meadow House, was purchased for $6,500, 
and opened as an Elks' Home. 

The corner stone of the new home was laid with appro- 
priate ceremonies on Saturday afternoon, June 25, 1910, 
at 2 o'clock. The exercises were in charge of Past Ex- 
alted Ruler Howard L James, Esq. The members met 
in their lodge room in the post office building and 
marched in a body to the site where the building was in 
the course of construction. Prayer was offered by the 
chaplain, after which the Secretary read the list of articles 
which had been placed in the corner stone. They con- 
sisted of the following : Copy of Grand Lodge Laws ; 
copy of By-Laws of the Bristol Lodge ; a list of the grand 
officers and local officers; copies of the local papers; a 
description of the old home and of the new home ; a small 
silk American flag; several old coins and a poem dedi- 
cated to the Elks. Mr. James then received a silver vessel 
filled with water and sprinkled the stone, repeating at the 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



293 



same time the words of the ritual. The chairman of the 
building committee, James Mooney, handed the trowel 
and mortar to Mr. James, who set the stone in position 
and then declared it to have been laid according to the 
rules and ceremonies of the order. The chaplain led in 
prayer and after a short address by Mr. James, the exer- 
cises closed bv the members sinoing the lodge ode. 




HOME OI" BRISTOL LODGE, NO. 970, B. P. 0. E. 



The dedication of the home took place on Saturday 
afternoon, March 4, 191 1, at 4 o'clock. The exercises, 
which were private, were held in the lodge room, in the 
presence of a large number of members. Eloquent ad- 
dresses were delivered by Past Exalted Ruler Howard I. 



294 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

James, Captain John Jack, of Oregon Lodge and others. 

'J'he new building is three stories high at the front and 
four stories at the rear. Up to the second story the 
material used in construction is gray stone and the bal- 
ance of brick. The style of architecture is modified 
colonial, with a "hip" roof. The building has a frontage 
of forty-four feet and extends to the rear seventy feet. At 
the rear of the building is a double-decked porch twelve 
feet wide, of pretty design. Under the basement is a 
cellar for the boiler and storage of coal. The basement 
is fitted up as a rathskeller. The first floor contains a 
large lobby, from which stairways lead to the upper floors 
and to the rathskeller. Next to the lobby, opening into 
the main corridor, are two rooms, the one on the left 
being used as a parlor and the other as a card room. The 
corridor connects in the rear with a large pool room. The 
second floor contains an auditorium with stage, and will 
be used for social sessions and other functions. Com- 
modious cloak rooms have been placed on this floor. The 
third story is used exclusively for lodge purposes. The 
hip roof affords a high ceiling, which is dome shaped. 
There is also two ante rooms on this floor. Three of the 
floors are supplied with lavatories and on the second 
floor is a bathroom fitted with tub, shower bath and 
stationary washstand. The building is lighted with gas 
and electricity, heated with steam and elaborately fur- 
nished from top to bottom. It is a handsome structure, 
and one that not only adds to the beauty of the locality 
in which it is erected, but is one of the attractive struc- 
tures of the town. 

The building was designed by Architect C. J. Brooke, 
of Philadelphia. The contractor was C. F. Bachman, of 
Camden. Peirce & Williams furnished the woodwork, L. 
T. Rodman did the plumbing, and the heating plant was 
installed by S. B. Ardrey & Sons. The Building Com- 
mittee of Bristol Lodge of Elks consisted of James L. 
Mooney, C. L. Anderson and Doron Green. The cost of 
the building independent of the lighting and heating, was 
$12,800. The total cost, including furniture, was about 
$24,000. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL. BOROUGH. 295 

The Italian Presbyterian Evangelical Mission. — The 

Italian Evangelical Mission was organized in June, 1905, 
in the audience room of the old Presbyterian Church, 
with Rev. Francis J. Panelta, missionary in charge. Dur- 
ing its first year, twelve men professed their faith in 
Christ, according to the Evangelical doctrines. After 
two years. Rev. Panelta resigned and was succeeded by 
Henry C. Sartorio. During the summer of 1907, street 
services were held on Sunday afternoons in the Italian 
district and in the summers of 1908 and 1909, a tent was 
secured and very successful Evangelistic services were 
held. The Sunday School was organized in June, 1909. 
On December 18, 1910, the new church building at the 
corner of Wood Street and Lincoln Avenue was dedi- 
cated. Rev. Sartorio, whose ordination to the ministry 
occurred in the Presbyterian Church, in 1909, resigned in 
the fall of 1910. His successor was Rev. Nicola Mucci, 
the present pastor. At present the church roll contains 
the names of fifty communicants, although a few have 
recently removed from town. 

Death of Hon. William Kinsey. — August 9, 1895, after 
a long and active career, the Hon. William Kinsey de- 
parted from this life, in the 92d year of his age. Mr. 
Kinsey was prominent in Methodist circles and one of the 
best known laymen in the Philadelphia Conference. His 
grandparents were among the early members, awakened 
by the preaching of Captain Webb, in 1771 and 1777. In 
1828, Mr. Kinsey was converted and joined the Bristol 
Church. He was made an exhorter in 1828. For over 
fifty years he was a trustee, and at the time of his death 
he had been president of the board many years. He was 
a great promoter of the new church enterprise, but died 
just ten days before the ground was broken for the new 
edifice. At his death he bequeathed his fortune to his' 
two surviving daughters, Lizzie and Caroline. Upon the 
death of Miss Caroline, the last member of the Kinsey 
family, the bulk of the fortune, amounting to about 
$35,000, was bequeathed to the Bristol Methodist Church. 
It was this legacy which enabled the Methodist Congre- 
gation to cancel the mortgage indebtedness on their 



296 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

church property and set aside $10,000, which is now in- 
vested in good securities. 

Wm. Kinsey was a descendant of one of the earliest 
settlers of this state. The family was early divided into 
two branches ; one engaged in iron-working and the other 
as workers in leather. Of the former branch were the 
ancestors of our subject, and several of them were in the 
Revolutionary War. The first to settle in Bristol was 
Samuel, the son of a cotton manufacturer of Birmingham, 
England, who came here in 1728. He was a farmer. His 
son was the great-grandfather of our subject and was 
born in 1755. All of the family since then have been 
born here. William was born in November, 1804. His 
early education was limited, but he had been a constant 
reader. He worked in a cotton mill for a short time, but 
early in life learned the trade of a blacksmith, which he 
followed until 1850. Afterward he engaged in iron manu- 
facturing for several years, subsequently dealing in real 
estate, acting as auctioneer, etc. In 1829 he was married 
to Mary, daughter of Richard Gosline, whose family have 
been residents of Bucks County for three generations. 
Their children were Mary Anna, Caroline, Elizabeth, 
Margaret, Fanny and Samuel, who was a graduate of 
West Point. Mr. Kinsey held many public positions. 
In 1829 he was elected high constable, serving six years; 
in 1836 chief burgess, holding the position for seven 
years; and in 1837, school director, serving twenty-four 
years. In 1842 he was appointed assignee in bankruptcy 
for the county, and in March, 1845, was appointed post- 
master, filling that ofifice for four years. In 1850, he was 
elected justice of the peace for five years. As assignee, 
executor and administrator he settled about fifty estates. 
In 1862 he was elected to the State Senate for a term of 
three years, and proved himself an able speaker on the 
floor, besides serving on the committees of education, 
agriculture, domestic manufacture, etc. On the call for 
troo])s to defend the State invasion, he assisted in raising 
a company and went into the service, receiving an honor- 
able discharge at the close of his term. He was a fre- 
quent contributor to the newspapers and to local history. 
In politics he was a Democrat and at the time of his 
death Avas the oldest Free Mason in Bristol. 




HON. WILLIAM KINSEY. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 297 

St. Ann's Italian Roman Catholic Church. — The Italian 
residents of Bristol for a number of years communed at 
St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church. Attracted by the 
opportunities offered of finding employment in the mills, 
their number steadily increased. During the period fol- 
lowing the year 1900, the number of Italian residents 
reached such proportions that a church of their own be- 
came a necessity. The Bishop accordingly sent Rev. 
Father Paul Gentile to Bristol in December, 1905, to 
take up the work of providing a church home for the 
people of his nationality. Father Gentile came here from 
Lansford, Pa., having built an Italian Catholic Church at 
Nesquehoning, Pa. He was admirably adapted to the 
work, afifable and with an abundance of energy, calculated 
to pusli the project through to a successful completion. 
The first services were held in the parlor of the present 
rectory in April, 1906, when the congregation consisted of 
175 families. The corner stone of the church building at 
Dorrance and Pond Streets was laid March 17, 1908, and 
the building blessed, September 29, 1908. Only the base- 
ment was completed and in this the congregation has 
since worshipped. Father Gentile had perfected his plans 
for building the upper story of his church last fall (1910). 
It was to have been of brown stone to match the base- 
ment. The main entrance was to be on Dorrance Street, 
while in the rear a tower fifty-five feet high was to have 
been built. The style of architecture was Roman and 
several friends of the church had promised to donate 
stained glass windows. A part of Father Gentile's plan 
provided for the opening of a Sunday School and a day 
school in the basement and two sisters were to instruct 
the children in the Italian and English languages. But 
just on the eve of the fulfillment of his plans. Father Gen- 
tile was removed to another diocese and the great work 
which he had projected is now held in abeyance. Father 
Gentile was succeeded by the Rev. Father Anthony Or- 
lando, the present rector. 

The Grundy Medal. — During the latter part of the 
school year ending with June, 1906, Joseph R. Grundy 
presented to the Bristol Public School Board a $500 bond, 



298 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

the interest from which was to be applied to the purchas- 
ing of a suitable medal to be contested for by the pupils 
in the high school. The donor refusing to allow the 
medal to bear his name, it was decided by the board to 
name it in honor of his father, the late Wm. H. Grundy. 
The medal is presented upon the basis of the full four 
years' course. The medal of 1906 was won by Miss Sara 
McNally, for having attained the highest average in the 
final examination of that year. Miss Esther L. Daniels 
was awarded the medal of 1907, upon the basis of effi- 
ciency in the last year's work in the high school. The 
medal of 1908 was won by Miss Ethel M. Townsend as 
a reward for efficiency in the last two years' work of the 
high school. The medal of 1909, which was the first to be 
presented upon the basis of the full three years' course, 
was won by Miss Helen C. Randall. Miss Marion Dun- 
gan won the medal of 1910, her average for the three 
years being 96.02 per cent., which is the highest on record 
ever having been attained by a pupil in the Bristol High 
School. 

Miss Eunice Williams made an average of 97.00 per 
cent, during her last year in the high school (1910), which 
is the highest record for a single year's work. In 1906, 
Miss Helma Stout was only three one-hundredths of one 
per cent, below Miss McNally, in the contest for the 
medal, and in 1909, Louis S. Weik finished a close second, 
being but 1.14 per cent. beloAV the average attained by 
Miss Randall. In each of the three instances, the con- 
testants were rewarded for their efficiency by receiving 
special prizes awarded by the president of the board, Wil- 
liam V. Leech. Beginning with this year (1910), a four 
years' course has been introduced into the high school, 
and in consequence the medals of the future will be 
awarded upon the basis of four years' work. 

Jefferson Avenue School House.— With the beginning 
of the year 1908, the proposition of providing accom- 
modations for the large influx of children, confronted the 
town. For five years the board had held back the question 
of building, hoping that the issue of bonds covering the 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



299 



cost of the high school building might be very largely paid 
off, before entering into a new indebtedness. But with the 
opening of the year the board realized that the question 
must be met. Most careful consideration of the propo- 
sition was given. If a new building was to be erected, 
accommodations must be provided for the children who 
occupied the rented building on Cedar Street, as well as 
for the extra children at the Bath and Washington Street 
buildings. This meant that the exigencies of the present 
demanded the immediate occupancy of four rooms. The 
question of remodeling the Washington Street school 
house and erecting an addition, containing two extra 
rooms was first considered. It meant the purchasing of 




JEFFERSON AVENUE PUBLIC SCHOOL. 

several properties on Washington Street, adjoining the 
school grounds, and when the cost was considered as 
well as the proposition being only a partial solution of the 
problem, the proposition was rejected by the board as 
unfeasible. An addition to the high school would also 
have only have afforded temporary relief and left the 
future with no opportunity for development. To add to 
the discomfiture of the board, the attendance in the high 
20 



300 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

school increased from thirty-five to fifty pupils and the 
need of less circumscribed environments became appar- 
ent. Thus, the proposition of building a new school 
house forced itself upon the board as the only proper 
method of disposing of the question. Eighteen archi- 
tects entered competitive drawings for the new school 
house. Two or three evenings were taken up with the 
consideration of the plans, and finally those of Heacock & 
Hokanson, of Philadelphia, were accepted. The plans 
provided for an eight-room building with basement 
auditorium. The lot at the corner of Jefiferson Avenue 
and Pond Street had previously been purchased of John 
Praull, of Philadelphia, for $4,200. The contract for 
building the school house was awarded to John N. De- 
Groot, his bid being $22,000, and work was begun 
immediately. 

The corner stone was laid on Tuesday afternoon, Sep- 
tember 15, 1908, at 2.30 o'clock, in the presence of a large 
crowd of people. The pupils of the high school, grammar 
and secondary grades, numbering about 500 in all, met at 
the high school building and paraded from there to the 
site upon which the new school building was to be 
erected. The line was formed as follows : Chief of police 
and four officers; Metropolitan Band, of Burlington; 
members of school board and town council ; members of 
Alumni Association. Then followed the scholars and 
teachers of the various grades. All the scholars carried 
small American flags. The line moved out Mulberry 
Street to Radclifife Street, to Jefiferson Avenue, and 
thence along the latter avenue to the new building. Seats 
had been provided for the teachers and scholars and a 
platform erected for the speakers. President W. V. 
Leech acted as chairman and announced the numbers on 
the program. Several patriotic selections were sung by 
the pupils and prayer was oflfered by Rev. J. Kennedy 
Moorhouse, rector of St. Paul's P. E. Church. Burgess 
W. K. Highland, a graduate of the Bristol High School, 
delivered an address. James H. Brooks, class of 1889, 
represented the High School Alumni Association and 
made a speech. Two essays were read, one entitled, "Old 
Time Schools," by Miss Vera Vansant, and the other. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 3OI 

"Past and Present," by Miss Helen Randall, both young 
ladies being members of the class of 1909. The last ad- 
dress was made by Director Doron Green, chairman of 
the building committee. The copper box in the corner 
stone contained the following articles : Holy Bible ; names 
of Burgess and Town Council ; names of School Board 
and various committees for school year 1908-1909; list of 
superintendent and teachers ; complete list of all the 
scholars enrolled in the public schools of Bristol ; list of 
the officers and members of the High School Alumni 
Association; postal card views of High School building, 
old building Wood Street, Bath Street building, Wash- 
ington Street building, old school building on Otter 
Street, now Mohican Hall; Radclifi'e Street, Mill Street, 
Ferry Boat Wm. E. Doron; Alumni badge; Swastika 
emblem; Pennsylvania School Journal, August, 1908; 
brief description of Bristol as it is today; copy of Bucks 
County Gazette, September 11, 1908; copy of Weekly 
Courier, September 10, 1908; copy of Weekly Courier 
containing account of commencement exercises, June, 
1908; copy of Daily Republican, September 15, 1908; 
coins presented by Farmers' National Bank, to wit: half 
dollar, 1908 issue; quarter dollar, 1908 issue; dime, 1909 
issue; nickel, 1908 issue; penny, 1908 issue; brief descrip- 
tion of architectural firm of Heacock & Hokanson ; brief 
description of the builder, John N. DeGroot; program of 
ceremonies. After the articles had all been deposited in 
the box the superintendent of the schools, Miss Louise 
D. Baggs, stepped forward and covered all with a small 
silk American flag. The band played the Star Spangled 
Banner, and the children rose to their feet, cheering loudly 
and waving their flags. The corner stone was laid by W. 
V. Leech, the president of the board, who spoke briefly 
The exercises closed with the benediction by Rev. C. E. 
Burns, D. D., of the Presbyterian Church. 

The building was dedicated on Monday evening. May 
24, 1909, with appropriate ceremonies. The exercises 
were held in the auditorium. Prayer was offered by Rev. 
S. W. Gehrett, D. D., of the M. E. Church. An address 
was delivered by Charles Heber Clark, Esq., of Philadel- 
phia. Director Doron Green, chairman of the building 



502 A HISTORY OF BKlSTOI. BOROUGH. 

committee, turned the building over to the school board, 
in a short address, and the keys were accepted by Presi- 
dent Leech. The dedicatory prayer was made by Rev. 
J. K. Moorhouse, rector of St. Paul's P. E. Church, after 
which President Leech, formally dedicated the building 
for school purposes. The benediction was pronounced 
by Dr. C. E. Burns, of the Presbyterian Church. 

On Tuesday afternoon the scholars had their part in 
the ceremonies. They met at the high school building 
and marched in a body to the new building. The magni- 
ficent flag pole which stands on the front lawn, being loo 
feet from base to the ball on top, was formally presented 
as a gift from the Graduating Class of 1909. The presen- 
tation was made by Ellwood Wright, a member of the 
class. A handsome flag, 123^ by 24 feet, was also pre- 
sented to the school as a gift from the pupils in the 
grammar, secondary and primary grades. Lawrence Mc- 
Coy, a pupil in the ninth grade, made the presentation 
speech. The pole and flag were accepted by Director 
Doron Green, in behalf of the board. When the flag was 
unfurled a salute was fired by the firing squad of Henry 
Clay Beatty Post, No. 73, G. A. R. Following the out- 
door exercises, the pupils assembled in the auditorium of 
the new building and rendered a most excellent program. 
Addresses were made by Rev. S. W. Gehrett, D. D., and 
Professor J. G. Krichbaum, a former principal of the 
Bristol High School. At the close of the exercises, James 
Brooks, of the class of 1889, presented the school board, 
in behalf of the Alumni Association, with eight hand- 
some oxford teachers' Bibles, for use in the building. On 
Tuesday evening a parents' meeting was held. Addresses 
were made by Superintendent Louise D. Baggs; Franklin 
Spencer Edmunds, Esq., of Philadelphia; Professor J. G. 
Krichbaum, of Woodbury, Pa. ; and President W. V. 
Leech. 

The exercises came to a brilliant close on Wednesday 
evening, when the president, W. V. Leech, gave a recep- 
tion and banquet in the school auditorium to those occu- 
pying official positions in the life of the borough. Among 
the invited guests were the members of the school board, 
their wives ; the superintendent and teachers of the 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 3O3 

schools, members of town council, the burgess, members 
of the board of health, ministers of the churches, officers 
of the Alumni Association, representatives of the local 
papers, the architects who planned the building, the 
builder, and a number of educational men throughout the 
county. There were in all about 150 guests. President 
Leech acted as toastmaster and toasts were responded to 
as follows : "Views on Our County Public School Sys- 
tem," Judge Mahlon H. Stout; "Our Local Schools," 
Superintendent Louise D. Baggs ; "Reminiscences of an 
ex-Director," Burgess Henry E. Ancker; "A Business 
Man's Opinion of Our Schools," Joseph R. Grundy, man- 
ufacturer; "A Few Facts," Director Doron Green; "Edu- 
cation in Bucks County," County Superintendent J. H. 
Hoffman; "Necessity of Friendly Intercourse Among 
Directors in the County," Lewis C. Wettling, of New- 
town ; "Impressions I Have Formed of the Local 
Schools," Rev. J. K. Moorhouse; "A Neighborly Greet- 
ing," Dr. A. N. Baggs, president of Abbington School 
Board ; "The Church's Relation to the Schools," Rev. C. 
E. Burns, D. D.; "Old Time School Days," Charles E. 
Scott, cashier Farmers' National Bank ; "Efficiency of 
Our Local Schools," Dr. S. W. Gehrett; "Impressions 
of Bristol," Joseph L. Heacock, architect; "The Citizens' 
Duty to Our Schools," Howard I. James, Esq. ; "The 
High School Alumni," James H. Brooks. 

The new school building stands upon a knoll at the 
intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Pond Street. Sim- 
plicity is represented in its construction, but the architects 
have so drawn the lines of the building and taken advan- 
tage of the natural contour of the ground, that the build- 
ing itself stands as a monument of beauty. Its very 
plainness and simplicity adds to its charm and appear- 
ance. It contains eight class rooms of the regulation size, 
28 by 32 feet. Each room contains eight windows. A 
large cloak room is connected with each class room, 
which is adequately lighted and heated. Teachers' closets 
are placed in the cloak rooms, with accommodations for 
a large number of books and necessary supplies. All the 
rooms are equipped with slate blackboards 3^ feet wide. 
The furniture is of cherry. Each room, with the excep- 



304 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

tion of the two lowest primary grades, contain forty- 
eight desks and seats and a teacher's desk of the same 
material. In the two lowest primary grades, accommoda- 
tions have been provided for fifty-six pupils in each room. 
One-third of the desks in each room are adjustable, the 
board having figured that two-thirds of the pupils run 
uniform in size, while the other third is out of proportion. 

The auditorium has been placed in the basement on the 
Pond Street side, this arrangement being made possible 
by reason of the natural slope of the ground. The room 
is 36^ feet wide by 56^ feet long and will seat 400 per- 
sons. Large wide stairways lead down to the auditorium 
from the upper floors, while an entrance on Pond Street 
will permit the use of the room for evening entertain- 
ments without the necessity of passing through the 
school building. In the basement are also situated the 
boys' and girls' laboratories and toilet rooms, and the 
boiler room and coal bin. The room containing the boiler 
has a ceiling of reinforced concrete, a floor of the same 
material and brick walls, the door being of fireproof con- 
struction, making the room absolutely fireproof. A 
janitor's entrance in the basement, under the front en- 
trance, makes it possible to enter the boiler room with- 
out going through the building. 

The ventilating system is elaborate and efficient. The 
fresh air is brought into the basement through a large 
sheet iron conduit, passed over aspirating coils in the 
basement, heated and distributed to the different rooms, 
where it enters as warm fresh air. Large registers set in 
the walls, about eight feet above the floor, regulate the 
supply of fresh air for each room. These registers are 
operated by the teachers. In all the rooms, just above 
the washboards, are large foul air registers. The foul air 
conduits are connected with a central ventilator on the 
roof. A large aspirating coil below the roof causes a 
constant circulation in the conduits, which draws the 
foul air from the different rooms. The building is heated 
by direct radiation, an adequate number of wall radiators 
being installed in each room. 

Another feature of interest are the hygenic drinking 
fountains, installed on each floor. No cups are required. 



A HISTORY Of BRISTOL BOROUGH. 305 

the children simply placing their mouths over a tiny- 
stream which shoots up from the fountains. At the head 
of the stairs on the top floor has been placed a teachers' 
room. It is equipped with a sanitary couch, to be used 
when pupils are taken sick, a ladies' writing desk, labora- 
tory and toilet room. The building is lighted with gas 
and electric lights. 

The grounds surrounding the building are beautifully 
and artistically laid out. The front lawn slopes gently 
down to the main entrance, where a green terrace and 
handsome entrance steps and gates give a charm to the 
picture, which holds the admiration of the spectator. An 
iron fence surrounds the grounds on Jefiferson Avenue 
and Pond Street, and another iron fence of different pat- 
tern divides the boys' and girls' play grounds. A rear 
entrance off Pond Street permits the children to enter 
the play grounds, without passing through the building. 
A wide concrete walk leads up the front lawn from the 
entrance gates and another walk leads to the janitor's 
entrance. The entrance to auditorium on Pond Street 
is of a pretty design. The main posts contain electric 
lamps, which greatly enhance its beauty when illumin- 
ated at night. 

The architectural firm which supplied the plans and 
superintended the construction of the building, was 
Heacock & Hokanson, of Philadelphia. Lewis T. Rodan 
was the successful bidder for installing the heating and 
ventilating system. His price was $4,001. The wood- 
work was furnished by Peirce & Williams and represents 
a class of high grade workmanship. The furniture was 
purchased from the New Jersey School and Church Fur- 
niture Company, of Trenton, N. J., and the blackboards 
from the Slatington-Bangor State Syndicate, Slatington, 
Pa. The cement used in the construction of the building 
was purchased direct from the manufacturer, at a saving 
of several hundred dollars to the board. The total cost of 
the building including ground and all the furnishing, was 
$38,711.07.' 

The Property Committee, which had charge of the 
work, consisted of Doron Green, William H. Booz and 
Edward Swain. The president of the board, W. V. Leech, 



306 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

acted in conjunction with the committee, his position 
making him an ex-officio member. The Supply Commit- 
tee, which purchased the furniture, consisted of Jacob 
Young, E. H. Foster, Dr. W. C. Le Compte and Doron 
Green. The board issued bonds to the amount of $38,000. 
Following is an itemized account showing the entire cost 
of the building: 

Building Account. 

Jefferson Avenue Property. 

Amount realized from sale of Bonds $38,186 25 

Interest on above until used 594 55 



Total amount $38,780 80 

Cost of Ground, Interest, Taxes and 

Improvements $4,556 14 

J. N. De Groot, Contractor 21,979 84 

L. T. Rodan, Heating & Ventilating 4,001 00 

Architect's Fees 1,50647 

Cement i,i79 Qi 

Furniture 2,445 60 

Outside Mason Work 1,06000 

Counsel Fees and Expenses of Bond 

Issue 

Iron Fence 

Wood Fence 

Grading and Hauling 

Blackboards 

Electric Work and Fixtures 

Bricks for Pavement 

Insurance 75 00 38,711 07 



368 


54 


590 


GO 


123 


14 


328 


23 


178 58 


187 


47 


131 


IS 


75 
100 


00 



Balance carried to General Account, 1909 $69 T^ 

Governor Edwin S. Stuart, of Pennsylvania, Visits 
Bristol. — Governor Edwin S. Stuart was the principal 
speaker at the Bristol High School commencement, held 
in the M. E. Church, Friday evening, June 4, 1909. Mr. 
Stuart was greeted so enthusiastically upon his arrival 
in the town, that he said the event would ever remain 
fresh in his memory. Long before 5.32 o'clock, the time 
scheduled for the Governor's arrival, a large crowd as- 
sembled at the station. A delegation of several hundred 
public school children, led by the drummer boys of the 
schools, marched from the high school building to the 
depot. Each child carried an American flag and all were 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL, BOROUGH. 307 

trembling with suppressed excitement. The Governor 
stepped from the train into the midst of the shouting and 
jubilant youngsters. Before leaving the depot the chil- 
dren sang several patriotic songs and Mr, Stuart made a 
short speech, expressing his surprise at the cordial greet- 
ing he received and his admiration for the patriotic fervor 
shown by the children. The children then escorted Gov- 
ernor Stuart to the residence of Joseph R. Grundy, on 
the river bank, where a reception was tendered him at 
•6.30 o'clock. About one hundred and fifty persons were 
present. The guests included the members of the public 
school board, town council, those at the head of the 
financial and commercial interests of the town and other 
prominent men in the borough and county. When the 
Governor entered the church where the commencement 
was held he was greeted with hearty and prolonged 
applause. His address was interesting, and listened to 
with close attention by the large audience, which filled 
the building to overflowing. At the close of his address 
he received a long and continued ovation. A pleasant 
feature of the occasion was the action of the Governor 
in consenting to pin the "Grundy" medal upon the win- 
ner, who was Miss Helen C. Randall. 

Maggie Winder, a Phenomenal Pacing Filly. — Maggie 
Winder, bay filly, by Oratorio, 2.13, owned by Jacob 
Winder, of Bristol, was the most phenomenal pacing 
filly of the season of 1909. In the history of harness rac- 
ing no other filly has the credit the first year of her career 
as a 3-year-old, of establishing four world's records, win- 
ning four three-year-old futurities, a stake event and one 
purse race in six starts. She never lost a heat or was 
headed after being given the word, and never made a mis- 
step or a break in her races. 

Breeders have spent thousands of dollars and a lifetime 
to breed a futurity winner, many failing in their efforts 
and only a few succeeding, but the owner of Maggie 
Winder, accomplished on his first real horse purchase 
what others have failed to do after many attempts. 

Mr. Winder came by a world's champion filly in a 
rather peculiar manner. Through a desire to purchase a 



3o8 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



driving horse for his wife, Mrs. Margaret Winder, Mr. 
Winder looked through a horse sale catalogue and saw 
the name of a mare, Clara Direct. Pleased by the name, 
he bought the mare through Henry Jones, of Caveland 
Farm, Kentucky, who has acted as his trainer since. It 
was not until her foal was a year old that Mr. Winder 
saw the marc or the filly, and then he named the future 
record breaker Maggie Winder, in honor of his wife. 

Maggie Winder showed trotting ability in her younger 
days, developing her pacing proclivities later. While she 




MAGCIK WINDKK. TIME, 2.0()J/4. 

was working in her two-year-old form the filly was fitted 
with toe weights to increase her stride. She suddenly 
began pacing and was driven at 2.11^ at that gait. Mr. 
Jones, finding she went more easily that way and seeing 
that her speed was increasing, laid her up with the idea 
of having her in championship form at three years old. 

Maggie Winder was first started on her career at Lex- 
ington, Ky., on August 13, 1909, in the 2.20 class at the 
Blue Grass Fair, with horses of four years and upwards, 
including Pickles 4, by Piilly vSayre, a horse that had 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 309 

paced at 2.113^ at Danville the week previous. The 
others were Sport of the Times, by Ashland Wilkes; 
Juno, by Jay Morse ; Kitty Gray and Agnes Forest. Mag- 
gie Winder won straight away in 2.o8j4, 2.09, setting a 
new world's record for three-year-old pacing fillies, the 
former mark, 2.08 2-3 having been held by Brenda Yorke, 
by Moko, made in 1906. 

Her next start was at Readville in the American Horse 
Breeders' Futurity, at $2,000 stake, in which she won at 
2.12^, 2.12^4, beating Miss Eva Wilkes and Lacopia. 
She was shipped on a 1,100-mile trip to Indianapolis, 
starting on September 6, three days afterwards, in the 
Western Horseman's Futurity, $2,000, against Dean 
Patch, by Norchen, Dell Patch, Alma Rex, Huxley, 
Thelma C., and Opal Royal, and distanced all but Dean 
Patch in the first heat in 2.065^, having a jog to win in 
the second heat in 2.12. 

Four days afterwards she won a $600 stake at the same 
track in 2.15^, from Miss Eva Wilkes, Gagan and Alma 
Rex, the last named being distanced in the first heat, 
making her winning $360 first and fourth moneys. 

Maggie Winder's next start was at Columbus, Ohio, on 
September 22, when she won the Kentucky Stock Farm 
Futurity in 2.09^, 2.083^, defeating Capitola, a half sis- 
ter by Oratorio ; Miss Eva Wilkes, by Glenco Wilkes, 
Dixie Parole, by Parole, who had shown 2.10 speed in her 
work and The Philistine by Direct Hal. who was credited 
with a trial in 2.07%. 

She concluded the season at Lexington on October 7, 
by winning the Kentucky Futurity, getting first and 
fourth money of the $2,000 purse and reducing her record 
of 2.065^, made at Indianapolis, to 2.06^, in the third 
heat. The time for the three heats, 2.08^, 2.09^, 2.06^, 
constitute a world's record for three-year-old pacing fil- 
lies. In her thirteen heats paced during the season, she 
averaged 2.10.30 10-13 and her winnings for the season 
were $5,120. 

During the season 1910. Mr. Winder kept his horse 
out of all events, as it was a hard year for the filly, and he 
and Mr. Jones considered it best not to push her. As 
this history is going to press, Mr. Winder is staking the 



310 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

horse for the 191 1 season of which nothing can as yet be 
said, except that greater things still are expected of Mag- 
gie Winder. (Contributed by Leo. Pollock, News Edi- 
tor, Bristol Daily Courier.) 

Lincoln Centennial Anniversary. — What was perhaps 
the greatest patriotic gathering ever seen in Bristol, as- 
sembled in the Colonial Theatre on Friday evening, Feb- 
ruary 12, 1909, to witness the celebration of the one 
hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, 
by the pupils of the high school and grammar grades of 
our local public schools. On the stage were seated the 
board of school directors, teachers, members of town 
council. Alumni Association and the veterans of Henry 
Clay Beatty Post No. 73, G. A. R., the latter being the 
guests of the children. As the members of the Post 
marched down the aisle the children gave them a rousing 
reception, waving their flags and singing "Marching 
Through Georgia." The boys in the school contributed 
the program with one exception. George Smith, a pupil 
in the high school, made the address of welcome. Intro- 
ductory remarks by the chairman, Doron Green, followed, 
and Charles E. Scott, cashier of the Farmers' National 
Bank and a member of Henry Clay Beatty Post No. 73, 
delivered an address. Rev. S. W. Gehrett, D. D., the pas- 
tor of the Bristol M. E. Church, was the last speaker. 
During the day appropriate exercises were held in the 
primary grade departments, the entertainments being at- 
tended by the members of the school board and the G. 
A. R. The whole day's proceedings were marked with 
great enthusiasm. 

Memorial Tablet Unveiled By Children. — One of the 
most impressive services ever participated in by the pub- 
lic school children of Bristol, was held in the auditorium 
of the Jefiferson Avenue school building on Tuesday 
morning, March 15, 1910, in connection with the unveiling 
of the memorial tablet commemorating the memory of 
the late William H. Grundy. The tablet had been placed in 
the building by the school board as a mark of appreciation 
for the kindness of Mrs. Grundy in presenting to the 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 3II 

board the sum of $4,200 in memory of her husband, which 
was the amount paid for the ground upon which the new 
school building has been erected. At the banquet held 
in the building the May previous, during the dedication 
exercises, Mr. Joseph R. Grundy, when making the pre- 
sentation, said the gift was made as a memorial to his 
father, because the ground upon which the building 
stands was the family's first home in Bristol. 

The children of the seven departments assembled in 
the auditorium at 9 o'clock. On the platform were seated 
President of the Board William V. Leech; directors Wil- 
liam Booz, Dr. W. C. LeCompte, Doron Green and the 
superintendent of the schools, Miss Louise D. Baggs. 
The exercises were entirely informal. The children sang 
Tennyson's beautiful composition "Crossing the Bar," 
after which they recited in concert the Twenty-third 
Psalm and the Lord's Prayer. Another selection entitled 
"Lend a Helping Hand," was then sung and at the con- 
clusion Director Green was introduced. 

He told the children that the meeting of that morning 
was under peculiar circumstances, that never before in the 
history of the schools had the children been invited to par- 
ticipate with the directors, in an occasion of like character. 
Telling the children that they had a right to know 
something about the man in whose honor the tablet was 
unveiled he reviewed briefly the life of the late William 
H. Grundy. He told of his coming here in 1876; the in- 
terest he manifested in the town's affairs ; how he was 
twice elected burgess of Bristol ; how he was once hon- 
ored by election as a Presidential elector, and told of his 
voyage to Russia to assist in the distribution of the sup- 
plies sent by the citizens of Philadelphia to the starving 
people of that country. In closing Mr. Green dwelt upon 
the gift to the board and explained how that body had 
decided to show their appreciation by placing the tablet 
in the building. 

The children sang another selection, "The Golden 
Rule," and then marched in a body upstairs to the main 
corridor where the tablet had been placed. As the chil- 
dren sang, "My Country 'Tis of Thee," Mr. Leech with- 
drew the tacks which held the covering in place, and as 



312 A HISTORY OB" BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

the closing words of the song were uttered dropped it to 
the floor, thus exposing the tablet to the gaze of all. The 
children stood in silence, as a mark of tribute to the dead, 
and then at a command from their teacher marched quiet- 
ly to their different rooms. 

The tablet is of brass and occupies a place on the left 
side wall, on the main stairway leading up from the front 
entrance on Jefferson avenue. It bears the following in- 
scription : 

This tablet commemorates the memory of the late 
WILLIAM H. GRUNDY 

who occupied this site as his first residence in 

Bristol in 1877, and in honor of whose memory the 

ground upon which the school house has been 

erected was presented as a gift to the 

Bristol School Board 

May 26, 1909. 

— (From Bristol Courier.) 

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company's New Roadbed. 

— In the spring of 1910, the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- 
pany began work on its new elevated roadbed through 
the town. The object of the improvement is to straighten 
its tracks, as well as eliminate the dangerous grade 
crossings which now exist. The new elevated roadbed 
which begins at a point opposite the Bristol Cemetery, 
follows the extreme western boundary of the town until 
Bath Street is reached, when it skirts the residential por- 
tion of the Fourth Ward and parallels Garden Street, 
crossing the canal and joining the main line a short dis- 
tance above the Hollow Creek. The new station is to be 
placed on Prospect Street, between Jefferson Avenue and 
Beaver Stret. It is expected that cars will be running on 
the new road by August, 1911. 

Railroad's New Concrete Bridges. — The new bridges 
which the Pennsylvania Railroad Company has erected 
on its elevated line through Bristol are departures in 
many ways in concrete bridge building. Three of the 
bridges are innovations in size and ornateness — those at 
Corson, Spruce and Pine Streets. All of the spans are 
of concrete construction, but the three last named are of 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL, BOROUGH. 



313 



concrete entire with steel used only in reinforcement rods. 
The bridges at Corson, Spruce and Pine Streets are the 
largest concrete slab bridges probably ever erected. Not 
that they are the largest concrete spans ever erected, for 
the arched bridge at Walnut Lane over the Wissahickon, 
Philadelphia, holds the record. But the Walnut Lane 
bridge is arched and these Bristol bridges are straight 
across from abutment to abutment. 




OLD P. K. R. STATION, POND STREET. 



Concrete slab bridges have been placed prior to this, 
but the slabs have never exceeded 20 feet, in fact most 
of them are 10 or 11 feet long. The new slabs are 31 feet, 
greater than ever before attempted. From abutment to 
abutment the bridges are 50 feet. 

The advantages of concrete spans lie in their longevity 
and minimum cost of maintenance. Iron bridges do not 
last nearly so long as concrete, which is practically inde- 
structible ; iron also must be painted constantly in order 
to lengthen its life. Concrete spans need no attention 
after they are finished. 

The Pennsylvania Railroad concluded to use concrete 
spans in view of the superiority of that material over iron 



314 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

for bridge work. Because of the narrowness of the dis- 
tances to span ordinary streets, arched concrete bridges 
would have had to be very long and erected at a consid- 
erable height. The elevated structure is not sufficiently 
high to permit arched bridges, so slab spans had to be 
utilized. The disadvantage then arose of laying slabs of 
over 20 feet. 

The railroad engineers determined to construct slab 
bridges on this work of greater length than heretofore, 
and they have succeeded in their efforts. 

Besides being a feat of engineering ingenuity the 
bridges are things of beauty. They are as gracefully out- 
lined as the temples of the departed Grecians and 
Romans, the designers having gone beyond the goal of 
planning utilitarian spans which would stand best the 
strain of heavy trains thundering across them, and they 
have placed in Bristol examples of high class architecture 
that are a credit to the town. The style used is an adap- 
tation of the Moorish. 

The other bridges are of steel and concrete construc- 
tion. The manner of covering the steel floors so as to 
make them invulnerable to water is interesting. A layer 
of concrete is laid over the floor, over this is spread a 
coating of a patent waterproofing fluid, then comes a 
cushion of sand, then brick and "grout," or fluid cement. 
In this way the span is protected from rain, snow, frost 
and the action of the atmosphere. (Bristol Republican. 

Halley's Comet. — After a disappearance of seventy-five 
years, Halley's comet returned and became visible to the 
naked eye, in the eastern sky, about May i, 1910. 
Astronomers announced that on the night of May i8th 
the earth would pass through the tail of the comet at 11 
P. M., and suggested the possibility of an electrical dis- 
play or meteoric showers, when the earth took the 
plunge. Hundreds of people remained up to see the 
spectacle, but the earth passed through the tail without 
a visible sign and many were disappointed. A few were 
frightened as the day approached, but the great majority 
regretted the absence of some display when the great 
event took place. For two weeks following its contact 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 315 

with the earth, the comet could be plainly seen above the 
western horizon. Astronomers claimed that the head of 
the comet measured 200,000 miles in diameter; its fail 
was 25,000,000 miles long and its distance from the earth 
14,000,000 miles at the time of contact. The width of the 
tail at the point where the earth cut through it was 1,000,- 
000 miles and it required about five hours to make the 
passage. 

The First Airship to Pass Over Bristol. — Charles K. 
Hamilton, the daring aviator, passed over Bristol in his 
biplane, Monday morning, June 13, 1910, at 9.30 o'clock. 
This was the first airship to make the flight between New 
York and Philadelphia. On his return journey he passed 
Bristol at 11.33 A. M. A special train on the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad acted as a guide to the aviator. Hamil- 
ton's speed was between fifty-five and sixty miles an 
hour. Considerable excitement prevailed in Bristol, the 
tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad being lined with 
people eager to catch a glimpse of the biplane. 

History of Radcliffe Street. — The following article was 
taken from the Bucks County Gazette. It was written 
during the summer of 1910, by our fellow townsman C. 
Wesley Milnor, one of Bristol's oldest and most respected 
citizens, and gives an interesting history of the eastern 
side of Radcliffe Street, away back in the fifties of the 
last century: 

"Near the Hollow Bridge, so called, there stands just 
south of the antique structure an unpretentious little 
dwelling not very large in any degree. In this little dwell- 
ing lived one Alexander Condy, a good citizen of our 
town, who taught school in the winter season and when 
there was any work toiled in the ship yard just adjacent. 
Mr. Condy was a calker by trade and followed this occu- 
pation when there was any work in this yard. In the 
larger one of the row of brick houses lived one Charles 
Thompson, who owned this property and carried on the 
business for a time. 

"There came, however, two people under the firm name 
of Risley & Wright, who built two vessels of good size 
named the William H, White and Nathan Tyler. 



3l6 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

"By the way, a number of our citizens were holders of 
vessel stock which proved to be a good investment on 
account of the coal trade to and from our town. The 
writer worked in this yard at the liberal pay of 50 cents 
per day and boarded himself, attempting to learn the 
trade. Just think of it, and compare it with the present, 
with beef at 28 to 30 cents a pound. 

"Adjoining this property, what is now called the Wor- 
rell property, there lived General William Montgomery, 
a retired army officer, with his family, together with 
Thomas and William Wood. General Montgomery was a 
gentleman of the old school, showing his military 
training. 

"Next adjoining there lived Francis Jacoby. He, too, 
was a type of the old school respected by his friends and 
faultless in his dress. I remember him when he kept a 
horse and buggy, and John Weaver was his driver and 
general utility man. This mansion of Mr. Jacoby's has 
been remodeled and the residence of Clifford L. Ander- 
son added to the lot owned by Mr. Jacoby. 

"As we are walking southward on this street on the site 
of the Jonathan W^right estate, there stood, just back 
from the street, obscured almost with shrubbery and 
flowers, a quaint old house one and one-half stories high 
in which lived Samuel Bankson, the father of Mrs. 
Reuben Pedrick. Adjoining this is the Robert Beatty 
homestead, an old residence, where Robert Beatty reared 
a large family and was a man of noble character and at 
one time cashier of our bank. 

"Well I remember Beatty's hill in winter when the 
coasting was good and also the bathing ground in the 
summer in the Delaware. A few of the boys were always 
welcome to enjoy the sports and pleasures at the Beatty 
home. 

"We now have come to the property of the late John 
K. Wildman which at the time I am writing of was 
occupied by William M. Downing, the father of our 
townsman, William M. Downing, the flour merchant. 
Mr. Downing was an agent of one of the coal companies 
whicji were located in Bristol at that time. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 317 

"Adjoining this property in the yellow mansion there 
lived Lucius H. Scott, a fine, noble gentleman, an hon- 
ored member of Bristol Lodge No. 25, also of St. James 
Church, a man whom if once seen you would always 
remember. 

"We now have reached what has always been known 
as the 'haunted house,' the property then of a Miss Sarah 
Keene, who also owned a brick house corner Tenth and 
Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, where the Mutual Life 
Building now stands. This sombre looking house with 
no visible sign of life or cheerfulness about it had stood 
unmolested nor inspected for many years, until recently, 
when I have been told one of our ladies took a party 
through it for inspection. One, William Whitley, with 
his family, lived in the basement at that time. 

"We have now arrived at the palatial mansion now 
occupied by our fellow townsman, Joseph R. Grundy. 
This property was once owned and occupied by Captain 
Joseph B. Hutchinson, Sr., who lived there and was the 
father of Joseph B. Hutchinson, of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad. Mr. Hutchinson was a gentleman of the old 
school and lived here before erecting the stone edifice 
on the Beaver Dam Road. This house was once occu- 
pied by Robert Tyler? a relative of ex-President 
Tyler. Mrs. Tyler was a descendant of Thomas 
Cooper, the tragedian, who figured in the theatrical 
world in the days of Edwin Forrest. Unfor- 
tunately, I might say, Mr. Tyler espoused the cause of the 
Southern Confederacy at the beginning of the rebellion. 
Although holding a good position, I think, in the Phila- 
delphia courts, he took up with a cause that was not 
worthy of the support of any man, and that finally ended 
in its overthrow and caused much distress and expense 
to our country. He had a fine family. Mrs. Tyler was a 
highly educated woman, of fine social qualities and well 
thought of in our community. 

"On the site of the residence of John C. Stuckert and 
others, there stood an old brick dwelling which was called 
the 'old bake house.' It has been said it was used as a 
hospital during the Revolutionary War. It also has 
been said that Lafayette stopped there for a time, so you 



3l8 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

see our town has a more than passing record of figuring 
in the war of the revolution. 

"At or about the river front of Dr. Lecompte's there 
was a fine beach at the river edge which was used by our 
Baptist people as a place to administer the rite of bap- 
tism by immersion. C. J. Page was the pastor in charge 
and frequently conducted these exercises. Mr. Page 
was here for some years and was a strong exponent of 
the Bible, as well as a staunch advocate of Temperance. 

"There were no houses from this spot to Walnut Street, 
where we find a building now occupied by the Order of 
Elks, originally called the Beaver Meadow House, kept 
as a boarding house by a Mrs. Crooks. 

"Let me say that from this point to the Laing property, 
outside the borough limits, there was a string of wharves 
upon which were stored thousands of tons of coal which 
came to Bristol via the canal and was unloaded from 
boats carrying from 75 to 90 tons and then reloaded on 
vessels for eastern points. This required a vast amount 
of manual labor and consequently gave employment 
to a large class, who kept up these boarding houses. This 
industry did much to build up a business for Bristol and 
added to the thriving prosperity of the town at that time. 
Other facilities having developed the coal industry in a 
wholesale sense is a thing of the past in the history of 
Bristol. 

"Adjoining lots with the Elks' property is the residence 
of Ernest Lawrence, which is of a more recent origin. 

"We come to a brick dwelling wherein Jesse W. 
Knight now resides, formerly occupied by W. B. Baker, 
but at the time of my story was the residence of Captain 
Lloyd B. Newell. Mr. Newell was a retired navy officer 
and lived with us for a number of years. A Commodore 
Shaw also made his home with him. It was also occupied 
by William R. Dickinson, a prominent lawyer of his day. 

"Next we find on the site of the new house of the 
Johnson family, two or three dwellings owned by one 
Benjamin Brown, who was a respected resident of our 
town. William Tabram lived on this property and car- 
ried on a business of dealer in rags, iron and second hand 
articles in general and did a good business. In the small 



A HISTORY 01? BRISTOL BOROUGH. 319 

house Standing back from the street there lived a Mr. 
Harlan and family. 

"The large dwelling now occupied by Dr. Frank Leh- 
man, was built by a John Magoffin, who with his wife, 
lived there for a number of years. The house is probably 
the best built house of its kind in the town and it is said 
that Mr. Magoffin superintended the erection of his home 
and that any material that was not up to the standard he 
would not let it go in the construction. Mr. and Mrs. 
Magoffin were members of the Presbyterian Church and 
were well known for their deeds of charity and example 
of the true Christian life. Mr. Magoffin would frequently 
on Sundays in summer, wend his way to the canal basin 
and there gather a lot of boatmen together and expound 
to them the teaching of God's word from the Bible. 

"There lived in a yellow house, where the beautiful 
home of G. M. Dorrance now stands, a Mrs. John Myers, 
a fine widow, a member of St. James' Church, at one time 
its organist in the old edifice, where I have seen her pre- 
side at the organ, during the pastorate of William S. Per- 
kins. Mrs. Myers was a noble specimen of a lady in its 
truest sense, kind, charitable and a devout Christian. 

"On the opposite side of Mulberry Street hill there 
lived Captain George Breck, who had a military career 
but I cannot recall of what kind. He also was a member 
of St. James Church, a perfect gentleman, well known in 
our town for his many good qualities. 

"We have now arrived at a point in our narrative 
covering the imposing structure of the Farmers* National 
Bank of Bucks County, a building of imposing architec- 
ture standing for years as sentinel guarding the peoples' 
money ; an institution solid as a rock and managed by 
men of strict integrity until today it is second to none 
in the county, and would no doubt be on an equality with 
any in the State. Robert Beatty was its cashier, assisted 
by Charles Iredell, both good men. It is now managed 
by our genial townsman Charles E. Scott, and his son 
Thomas as assistant, both able financiers. 

"An incident comes to my mind that will illustrate the 
faith our people have in this institution. There was an 
old Irishman in our town who had through economy 



3?Q A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH, 

saved quite a sum of money in the way of gold, there 
being a premium on the same during the war. It was his 
custom to consult a friend as to what it was selling for; 
when one day he finally sold it and received in exchange 
greenbacks for the same ; and it is said that he had such 
confidence in our bank that he exchanged the greenbacks 
for our bank's issue of notes, never dreaming that if the 
government went up, the bank notes would be no good. 

"Where Tom Scott now lives there lived a family by 
the name of Vezin for quite a time and was afterward 
occupied by a Mrs. Fraily and also A. L. Packer. 

"The two brick houses next adjoining were not built 
until quite recently as well as the building of the Bristol 
Trust Company, this being erected but a short time back, 
and as it is composed in its board of officers of some of our 
best citizens there is no reason why it should not succeed 
in its mission and thereby benefit its stockholders and the 
community in general. There stood on the site of this 
a large mansion where John Dorrance and family once 
resided for quite a season and was afterward used later 
on by William Fabian as a furniture and house furnishing 
store. 

"John Dorrance was an old resident of our town and 
had large business interests, was a senior member of the 
firm of Dorrance & Knight also Dorrance & Doron who 
managed the old mill for many years. He was interested 
in the railroad and other enterprises, was respected by all 
who knew him and built the mansion now occupied by G. 
M. Dorrance. He was a member of St. James' Church and 
one ot its regular communicants. He lived here and 
passed away at a good old age well liked and respected by 
his fellowmen. 

"Where the post office now stands was a building occu- 
pied by a number of persons in diflferent kinds of busi- 
ness, the upper story being used as a public hall for 
various purposes. 

"We now come to what was the terminus of the Phila- 
delphia & Trenton Railroad Company, where trains were 
run from Trenton and New York, and thence by boat to 
Philadelphia. This business was carried on prior to 1850 
and I clearly recall the trains going and coming down 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 32 1 

Market Street when I was but a small boy. The boat 
would come to Bristol from Bordentown and there wait 
for the train and take the passengers to Philadelphia. 
When quite a boy I sold the Philadelphia newspapers to 
passengers from Bordentown and Trenton and some 
mornings would sell from thirty to fifty papers whilst the 
passengers were being transferred. I think there was 
only one train a day from Trenton and only two from 
New York in the early part of its existence in our town. 
After a time this business was transferred to Tacony; 
then again to Kensington and finally to Broad Street. 
What a contrast between now and the beginning of 1850. 
The old depot was used during the war as a storehouse 
for hay and straw, wherein hundreds of tons were baled 
and shipped to the front for our army. The building was 
later on demolished. 

"The two or three frame buildings adjoining were occu- 
pied by dififerent persons during his time. The one that 
I can recall now was a carpenter named Harrison Brels- 
ford. He was also a ferryman in the winter time when 
the ferry boat was laid up. Christopher O'Reilly once 
had a newspaper agency in one of these houses. This 
brings us to that old hostelry, the Delaware House (be- 
fore the days of railroading it was Bessonett's Hotel). It 
has been a landmark for many years whilst not now hav- 
ing its original appearance, but being considerably 
changed by painting, etc., yet it has a history that belongs 
to our ancient town that is worth thinking over. As I 
have said it was originally called Bessonett's Hotel, being 
kept by a man of that name. It was here where passen- 
gers who were fatigued with the tedious journey from 
Philadelphia to New York — (for it took, sixty years ago, 
two days to get there in a lumbering old stage coach and 
you had to pay four dollars for the pleasure), stopped to 
rest over night and also to change horses. I recall an 
incident written by our townsman, William Kinsey, 
wherein he stated that there was a rivalry in regard to 
carrying the mail between this man Bessonett and a Mr. 
Reeside, which created an opposition line and handbills 
were posted throughout the town by the opposition : 



322 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Unparalleled speed. 

Philadelphia to New York in two days. 

Comfort and safety assured. 

Fare, $4. 

"Just think of it, when now, in 1910, you can travel 
from Philadelphia to New York on some trains in about 
ninety minutes. What a contrast, surely we Americans 
are progressive and hard to beat. This hotel was kept 
later on by Lewis F. Pratt and others." 

Showing Increase in Population. — In 1753, Bristol con- 
tained only seventy-two taxables, twenty-four of whom 
were single men. In 1806, Bristol contained ninety 
houses. By the census of 1800, the population was 511; 
in 1810, 628; in 1820, 908; in 1830, 1,262; in 1840, 1,438; in 
1850, 2,570; of which there were males, 1,287; females, 
1,283; (colored persons, 89). This shows a prosperous 
increase of 1,132 souls, during the decade between 1840- 
50. In 1850-51, there were about 450 dwellings in the 
borough (besides a number of shops of various kinds), 
and in the spring of 1852, they numbered 500 . In 1853 
the borough contained 600 buildings, as dwellings, stores 
and manufactories of various kinds, and Wm. Bache 
placed the population at 3,000. The population in i860 
had reached 3,314; in 1870, 3,269; in 1880, 5,273; in 1890, 
6,553; in 1900, 7.101 ; in 1910, 9,256. 

Bristol's Oldest Citizen. — Joseph S. Peirce, Bristol's 
oldest male citizen, recently celebrated his ninety-second 
birthday anniversary. Three years ago he was seriously 
ill and since that time has been confined to his room. He 
has lost the motion in his lower limbs and his memory is 
greatly impaired. He resides with his son, E. M. Peirce, 
on Radcliffe Street. 

Mr. Peirce was born in Philadelphia in the house next 
door to that known as the Betsy Ross House on Arch 
Street. He was educated in Philadelphia and Byberry, 
where his parents afterwards resided. As a young man 
he found employment in Maryland, but left that state to 
come to Bristol in 1851. He was at one time superin- 
tendent of the forge which stood where Henderson's 
carpet mills now stand. Mr. Peirce identified himself 
with the Abolition movement early in its career and be- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 323 

came one of the most active agents of the Underground 
Railroad, taking care of the Bristol end. It was he who 
helped Captain Dangerfield from Philadelphia, from 
which city the escaped slave so mysteriously disappeared. 
Mr. Peirce sheltered the captain in his home on the night 
of his disappearance, until midnight, when he rowed him 
across the river to Burlington, where together they took 
the "Owl" train for Camden. Mr. Peirce accompanied 
him a short distance, when he was relieved by another 
agent of the Underground Railroad, and returned to 
Bristol. 

After the war, Mr, Peirce went to the oil regions, re- 
turning to Bristol in 1868. He went into partnership 
with his brothers, Charles and Joshua, forming the firm 
of Peirce Brothers. This firm cut the old Cyrus Peirce 
farm, above Lafayette Street, into lots and financed and 
influenced manufactories to establish in Bristol. After 
the dissolution of the firm, Mr. Peirce conducted a coal 
business until he was succeeded by his son, E. M. Peirce, 
in 1888. Since 1902, he has retired from all business and 
lived quietly with his son Edward, on Radcliflfe Street. 
Recently, owing to the serious illness of his son, Mr. 
Peirce was removed to the home of his daughter, at Wor- 
•cester, Mass., where he still remains. 

Note. — Since the writing of this article, Mr. Peirce has passed 
away. His death occurred on April 24, 1911, at the home of his 
•daughter, Mrs. Edith Getchell, Worcester, Mass. The article is 
retained, however, for its historical value. 



324 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL, BOROUGH. 



EPOCH IX. 



BRISTOL OF TODAY— 1911. 



Introduction. — The little collection of log cabins which 
were erected in the early years of our history, by the 
settlers upon the banks of our beautiful river, have been 
superceded by the substantial and comfortable residences 
that meet the eye today. The hardy pioneers of 225 
years ago, who with axe and cleaver cleared the land and 
erected their unpretentious habitations, have given place 
to another class of people, who know nothing of the toil, 
privations and hardships which were endured by those 
who preceded them. Yet we have every reason to feel 
proud of our citizenship. For intelligence, industry, cor- 
diality and everything that contributes to the highest 
type of American manhood, our citizenship is not sur- 
passed by any other town of corresponding size in the 
whole United States. 

Unsurpassed Opportunities. — Situated on the bank of 
the beautiful Delaware, with the main line of the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad running through the town, and trolley 
service to Philadelphia, Trenton and Doylestown, un- 
surpassed opportunities are offered for transportation 
and commerce. Yet unsurpassed as these opportunities 
have been, the near proximity of Philadelphia has proven 
a deterrent factor, and what under other conditions 
would have been a blessing, has to the merchants of 
Bristol proved the reverse. The large department stores 
of Philadelphia have delivery wagons in Bristol, and 
many of the citizens purchase their clothing, furniture, 




HENRY E. ANCFvER. 
Burgess of Bristol. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 325 

etc., in the larger city, and have the deliveries made to 
their homes here, w^ithout extra charge for transporta- 
tion. Nevertheless, Bristol exhibits an abundance of 
business houses. Mill Street is the principal business 
street of the town and has but five or six dwelling houses, 
its entire length, all the other places being devoted to 
business. The Bristol Mills, on this street, which for 
nearly two centuries, contributed to the prosperity of 
the town, are today a mass of ruins. The office has been 
converted into a store, which is leased by Samuel Scott, 
an old resident of the town. Radcliffe Street has no 
stores above Mulberry Street. Bath Street is assuming a 
business air and is fast becoming a strong rival of Mill 
Street. Most of the other streets of the town, each con- 
tain one or more stores. 

Population Cosmopolitan. — The population of the town 
is thoroughly cosmopolitan, made up of the following 
nationalities : German, Irish, Italian, Prussian, English, 
Greek, Scotch, Welsh, Swiss, Hungarian, Hebrew and 
Chinese. The Italians are the latest acquisition to our 
citizenship. They have settled mostly in the northeast- 
ern section of the town, in and near Brook Street. The 
Roman Catholic branch have erected a brown stone 
church at the corner of Dorrance and Pond Streets, while 
those who hold to the Protestant faith, are identified with 
the Presbyterian Church and have recently completed 
a chapel building at the corner of Wood Street and 
Lincoln Avenue. The children of the Italian residents 
are mostly employed in the mills and factories. Many of 
the Hebrew residents are in business in various parts 
of the town, while from the sturdy stock of our English, 
German and Irish settlers, have come our best citizens 
of today. 

Manufacturing District. — The northeastern section of 
the town, between the canal and railroad, above Beaver 
Street, is all occupied by manufacturing industries, the 
names of which are as follows : Thomas L. Leedom Co., 
carpet manufacturers; Gledhill Wall Paper Company; 
Peirce & Williams, Wood Turning Mill;; T. B. Harkiris 



326 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Foundry Company; Edward T. Steel & Co., manufac- 
turers of men's worsted fabrics; Wm. H. Grundy & Co., 
worsted yarns. Wm. Henderson is the proprietor of a 
carpet mill located along the canal near Buckley & 
Beaver Streets. The Corona Company's plant fronts on 
Beaver Street above Mansion Street, and the factory of 
the Bristol Patent Leather Company is about a quarter 
of a mile above the town, between the railroad and canal. 
The Standard Cast Iron, Pipe and Foundry Company 
occupies a site along the river about a quarter of a mile 
above the Hollow Creek. The new plant of the Artesian 
Ice & Dairy Products Co. is located in the Fourth Ward 
near the Washington Street swinging bridge. The num- 
ber of people employed in these industries aggregates 
3,300, while the wages annually paid to these operatives 
amount to the sum of $1,750,000, and the value of the 
manufactured product to $12,000,000 annually. 

Well Supplied With Churches. — The town is well sup- 
plied with churches as follows. Society of Friends, 
Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, St. James' 
P. E. Church, St. Paul's P. E. Church, St. Mark's R. C. 
Church, English Lutheran, German Lutheran, St. Ann's 
Italian R. C. Church, Presbyterian Italian Mission, Afri- 
can M. E. Church and Colored Baptist. St. Mark's has a 
large and well equipped parochial school building and 
both of the Protestant Episcopal Churches have parish 
houses. The Presbyterian congregation worships in its 
beautiful chapel building which adjoins the old church 
building in the rear. St. Mark's has the largest member- 
ship. Among the Protestant denominations the Method- 
ist congregation is the largest. Several of the churches 
have excellent choirs, and the spiritual needs of the 
people are looked after by able and efficient pastors. 

Local Public Schools. — The local public schools are the 
best in the county. Four school buildings are in use, 
namely: High School Building, Wood Street; Jefiferson 
Avenue, Washington Street and Bath Street. The old 
school building on Wood Street is held in reserve and 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOI, BOROUGH. 327 

will probably be used some day for a Commercial High 
School. One superintendent and twenty-seven teachers 
are employed and the enrollment of scholars is about 
1,100. The names of the superintendent and teachers 
follow: Miss Louise D. Baggs, superintendent; Ella Van- 
uxem, principal of high school ; Ella M. Torrey, assistant 
principal of high school ; Rachel Bartine, second assistant 
principal of high school ; Clara M. Parks, principal of 
commercial department; Bessie Clark, drawing teacher; 
Margaret Barrett, Alice Lippincott, Carrie Mins- 
ter, Florence Kelly, Emma Duckworth, Helen McClossie, 
Elizabeth Betz, Gladys Blackwood, Anna Brady, Ella 
Mathias, Edna Groom, Effie Watson, Minnie Rodrock, 
Bertha Hetherington, Beulah Doan, Mary King, Jessie 
Mansall, Clara Beidleman, Mary Wilkinson, Sara Mc- 
Nally, Rhoda Marine, Mabel Wettling. 

The board of directors consists of the following: First 
Ward, Wm. H. Booz, H. S. Rue, Dr. W. C. Le Compte; 
Second Ward, E. H. Foster, D.O.Taylor, Edward Swain; 
Third Ward, Jacob Young, John F. Wear, Doron Green ; 
Fourth Ward, Eugene Barrett, Bernard Boyle, John J. 
Gallagher; Fifth Ward, Wm. V. Leech, Samuel Turner, 
Charles Dalton. Wm. V. Leech is president, H. 
S. Rue, secretary, and E. H. Foster, treasurer. In June, 

1909, a course in stenography and typewriting was intro- 
duced into the high school curriculum, and in September, 

1910, a full commercial course was installed. The ques- 
tion of a cooking school is being considered and will 
probably be put in operation before the end of the pres- 
ent school term. Music has been taught in the schools 
for several years past and the progress made by the 
scholars is remarkable. The pupils of the high school 
have a social and literary association which they call the 
Swastica Society. It has done much to promote social 
intercourse, and develop an interest in literary work 
among its members, besides contributing much to the 
happiness of their school days. The teachers also have 
attended and much good has been accomplished through 
a society for their mutual good, which meets weekly. 
About once a month a mothers' meeting is held in one 
of the school assembly rooms. These meetings are well 



328 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH, 

attended and much good has been accomplished through 
the acquaintanceship thus formed between the mothers 
and teachers. In September, 1910, the ninth grade was 
merged into the high school, thus giving to that depart- 
ment a four years' course. A splendid spirit of co-opera- 
tion exists between the teachers and directors, and as a 
result, the schools have reached a high grade of efficiency 
and usefulness. 

Newspapers. — The town can boast of two newspapers. 
The Bucks County Gazette, which was started in 1873 ^Y 
Jesse O. Thomas, is still published weekly. The Daily 
and Weekly Courier are published by Wm. C. Watson. 

Licensed Hotels. — Six hotels are licensed in the town. 
The Delaware House, which was built in 1765, is still 
standing, and is now run by Matthew Lincoln. Recently 
the old building has been greatly improved and now 
presents a more modern appearance. The Silbert House, 
' Radcliffe Street, formerly known as the Cottage Hotel, 
is operated by Mrs. Geo. Silbert. Charles Rommell is 
proprietor of the Bristol House, at the corner of Mill 
and Radcliffe Streets, opposite the Delaware House. The 
Railroad' House, Mrs. W. H. Fine, proprietor, is located 
on Mill Street, between Pond Street and the railroad. 
The Hotel Closson, J. J. Kilcoyne, proprietor, stands at 
the corner of Mill, Otter and Bath Streets. Sweeney's 
Hotel is situated on Buckley Street near Pine. M. J. 
Sweeney is the proprietor. 

Divided Into Wards. — The town at present is divided 
into five wards. The First Ward embraces all the land 
between the canal basin on the south, the Delaware 
River on the east, Penn Street on the north and the 
canal on the west. The Second Ward is bounded by 
Penn Street, the Delaware River, Lafayette Street and 
the canal. The Third Ward contains all the land south 
of the old mill race and the canal. The Fourth Ward is 
situated north of the mill race and is bounded on the east 
by the canal and extends on the north and west, to the 
borough line. The Fifth Ward includes the land above 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOI. BOROUGH. 329 

Lafayette Street to the borough line, bounded on the 
east by the river and on the west by the canal. 

Borough Government. — The government of the bor- 
ough is vested in a Burgess and Town Council of twenty 
members, four being from each ward. Henry E. Ancker 
is Burgess, and the members of Town Council are as 
follows : First Ward, James Wright, W. K. Fine, George 
Strausser, R. B. King; Second Ward, Joseph R. Grundy, 
Gustav Rathke, George Buckley, Griffith L. Williams; 
Third W^ard, Edward Hoeding, Dr. A. S. Wilson, John 
J. Kilcoyne, Clarence Young; Fourth Ward, Martin A. 
Fallon, Patrick Dougherty, Thomas Hoffman, Neil Mulli- 
gan ; Fifth Ward, Josiah M. Owens, Abraham Wilson, 
Louis Spring, Dr. J. de B. Abbott. Josiah M. Owens is 
President of Town Council and H. H. H. Poole is town 
clerk and borough treasurer. An efficient police force is 
in charge of Charles Saxton, a veteran officer, who has 
been in active service over thirty years. Fred I. Kraft 
fills the position of town 'squire and has an office in the 
Tabram building, between the town house and Silbert's 
Hotel. The borough attorneys, Gilkeson & James, occu- 
py an office building next door to the Wright Brothers' 
store, at the corner of Radcliffe and Market Streets. 

Repairs to Streets. — The Street Committee of Town 
Council, under the direction of Joseph R. Grundy, chair- 
man, has done much to improve the streets and highways 
of the town. Recently a new material known as 
"Amiesite" has entered into the construction of new 
roads. The roadbed on Otter Street has been resurfaced 
with this material, making it the finest street in town. 
During the year 1910, about one and a quarter miles of 
new roads were built. 

Banking Institutions. — Bristol has two banking insti- 
tutions : The Farmers' National Bank, and the Bristol 
Trust Compan3\ Both bank buildings are situated on 
Radcliffe Street, between Market and Mulberry Streets. 
Benjamin Taylor is president of the former and Charles 
E. Scott cashier. Joseph R. Grundy is president of the 



330 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



Trust Company and William P. McCoy secretary and 
treasurer. Both institutions have saving fund depart- 
ments which arc well patronized. 




Post Office. — The post office occupies the first floor in 
the W. E. l^oron building, on the east corner of Radcliffe 
and Market Streets. E. W. Minster is post master, and 
his assistants are Howard Thornton, Melvin Jefferies and 
John Wright. Two years ago the Federal Congress 
appropriated the sum of $80,000 for the purpose of erect- 
ing a new post office building in Bristol. The site at the 
southeast corner of Pond and Mulberry Streets was pur- 
chased, but since then nothing more has been done. 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 33* 

Extensions to Streets. — The new extension of Buckley 
Street from Beaver Street to Washington Street, has re- 
cently been opened, and most of the houses on Prospect 
Street have been removed to new sites on the west side of 
the new extension, to make room for the new depot of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad. Arrangements have been 
made to open Cedar Street, from the pocket above Lafay- 
ette Street, through to Jefiferson Avenue. 

Anchor Yacht Club. — The Anchor Yacht Club, com- 
posed of owners of motor boats, has a clubhouse on the 
cliffs above the Hollow Creek. Burgess Henry E. 
Ancker is president and Edward Dougherty secretary. 
The annual lawn fete and regatta of this club is one of 
the pleasant events of the summer season. 

Secret Societies. — Bristol has more secret societies, per- 
haps, than any town of its size in the United States. Six 
public halls have lodge room accommodations. They 
are as follows : Odd Fellows' Hall, corner Radcliffe and 
Walnut Streets ; Knights of Pythias Hall, Wood Street; 
between Mulberry and Walnut Streets; Mohican Hall, 
Otter Street below Bath Street; Mechanics' Hall, Post 
Office building, corner Radcliffe and Market Streets ; A. 
O. H. Hall, Corson Street, near Buckley Street; Forest- 
ors' Hall, corner Pond and Lafayette Streets, and two 
private halls, namely. Masonic Hall, on Cedar Street, be- 
tween Market and Mulberry Streets, and the Elks' 
Home, corner of Radcliffe and Walnut Streets. The 
richest lodge in the town is that of the Junior American 
Mechanics, their total worth being about $16,000. Fol- 
lowing is a list of the ])rominent orders established in the 
town : 

Masonic Fraternity, Order of Elks, L O. O. Fellows, 
Knights of Pythias, Imp. Order of Red Men, Jr. O. U. A. 
Mechanics, Daughters of .A.merica, Degree of Pocahontas, 
Knights of Friendship, Ancient Order of Hibernians, 
Knights of Columbus, Shepherds of Bethlehem, Order 
of Forresters, Brotherhood of America, American Protest- 
ant As.sociation, Knights of Mystic Chain, Sons of St. 
George. Knights of the Cjolden Eagle, Grand Armv of 
2?> 



.332 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

the Republic, Patriotic Order Sons of America, Royal 
Arcanum, Grand Fraternity and Woodmen of the World. 

Social Clubs. — The men of Bristol are fond of club life, 
.and as a result, several clubs are in a flourishing condi- 
tion. The "Algonquin" has quarters on RadclifTe Street 
between Walnut and Franklin Streets. The new Elks' 
club house, at the corner of Radcliffe and Walnut Streets, 
recently opened, is magnificent in its appointments and a 
credit to the town. The AUemania Verein, or German 
Club, has a commodious club house on West Jeflferson 
Avenue in the Fourth Ward, near the new depot of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The Owl Social, one 
of the oldest clubs in the borough, has quarters in the 
Strobele building on Mill Street, near the canal. The 
Mohican Social has a room in the old Osmond building, 
^t the junction of Mill Street and the railroad. 

Practicing Physicians — Seven physicians are practicing 
in the town. Dr. E. J. Groom is the oldest, having prac- 
ticed continuously for over fifty years. He resides in a 
commodious residence on the north side of Mill Street, 
adjoining the building occupied by the Child's grocery. 
Dr. J. de B. Abbott resides at the southwest corner of 
Radclifife Street and JelTerson Avenue. He takes an 
active interest in municipal afTairs and at present is 
serving a term in town council. He has also served a 
term as burgess. Dr. William Martin resides on Rad- 
cliffe Street, next door to the Slack homestead, at the 
<;prner of Radclifife and Franklin Streets. He is the 
Jocal physician of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. 
Dr. W. C. LeCompte occupies a palatial residence on the 
•east side of Radclifife Street, adjoining the Britsol Water 
Company. He takes an active interest in public school 
afifairs. being a director from his ward, and is also at the 
li^ad of the health and sanitary committee appointed by 
the school board. Dr. Frank Lehman succeeded Dr. W. 
P. A'Veaver, and resides on Radclifife Street, next door to 
the residence of G. M. Dorrance, at the corner of Rad- 
clifife and Mul])erry Streets. Dr. George T. Fox and Dr. 
frames Collins are 1)oth voung men wlio have recentlv 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 333 

located here. The former resides on Radcliffe Street 
near Mulberry, and the latter on Bath Street. Dr. A. S. 
Wilson, one of Bristol's most popular physicians, retired 
over a year ago on account of failing health, and is now 
an invalid. 

The doctors of dentistry are Dr. J. T. Stradling, 219 
Market Street; Dr. C. E. King, 228 Mill Street and Dr. 
J. J. Hargraves, 325 Radcliffe Street. 

Drug Stores. — Nine drug stores are established here, 
being located as follows : Dr. Howard Pursell, south- 
west corner of Mill and Cedar Streets; John K. Young 
and Maurice Watson, on Bath Street; Emil Erthel, on 
Mill Street, in the Hoguet building, near Cedar; Emlen 
Martin, Radcliffe Street, adjoining Presbyterian Manse; 
A. Fabian, southwest corner of Radcliffe and Mulberry 
Streets ; Serrill Douglass, southeast corner of Dorrance 
and Wood Streets ; Harry H. Headley, northwest corner 
of Washington and Wood Streets; John B. Spencer, 
northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Pond Street. 

Moving Pictures. — The moving picture show is still 
a jiopular diversion. The first show was started in the 
second story of the Bell building, at the corner of Mill 
and Pond Streets, about five years ago, by Edward 
Subers, of Burlington, N. J. It attracted large crowds, 
but subsequently the factory inspector declared the 
building unsafe, and the show was closed. Another show 
was started in the old post office building, which stood 
upon the site of "The Bristol." Joseph Vansant, who 
owned the adjoining building, erected an addition in the 
rear, and the show was moved therein. In the mean- 
time, a show was started in the old Colonial Theatre on 
Wood Street, by Earl T. Stanley, which was successful 
from the start and is still in operation. Subsequently 
two moving picture houses were erected on Mill Street, 
one of which is still in use. 

Burlington Island Park. — A few years ago a park was 
opened on Burlington Island, and it is today a popular 
resort for picnics from both up and down the river. The 
park is also much enjoyed by liristol people. Most of our 



334 ^^ HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

local Sunday Schools hold their annual picnics on the 
island and on Saturday afternoons large numbers of our 
citizens cross over to the park and eat their suppers in 
the grove before returning home. No intoxicating 
liquors are sold, and this fact greatly adds to its popu- 
larity as a resort for Sunday School and Church picnics. 

Trolley Service. — Two lines of trolleys run into the 
town, with their terminals at the corner of Bath and 
Otter Streets. The Bucks County Electric Railway Com- 
pany operates the line from Doylestown to Bristol, and 
uses Bath Street for an entrance into the town. The 
Philadelphia. Bristol and Trenton Street Railway Com- 
pany controls the line running from Philadelphia to 
Trenton and uses Otter, Mill and Radcliffe Streets in its 
course through the town. The trolley tracks are not 
extended over the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad at 
Mill Street, which necessitates a transfer of passengers 
at that point. The trolley fare from Bristol to the heart 
of Philadel])hia is 20 cents, and from Bristol to Trenton 
is 15 cents. The railroad fare is 57 cents to Philadelphia, 
or 80 cents for an excursion ticket. The boats on the 
river charge 15 cents each way to Philadelphia, or 25 
cents excursion rate. The rate by trolley to Doylestown 
is 48 cents. The trolley lines are now carrying freight 
and greater development along this line is expected in the 
near future. 

Grand Army of the Republic. — Henry Clay Beatty 
Post No. 73, G. A. R.. which was organized shortly after 
the close of the Civil War. is still in existence, but its 
ranks are being rapidly decimated by death, as the years 
l^ass by. Each Decoration Day still finds them engaged 
in their labor of love, when the graves of their fallen 
comrades are decked with flowers. A few days before 
Decoration Day each year, a public memorial service is 
held in the Methodist Church, and is largely attended by 
the citizens. During recent years, a strong attachment 
has sprung up between the veterans of the G. A. R., and 
the children of the local public schools. Each year the 
\eterans arc the guests of the children at their annual 
\\'ashington-Tvincoln celebration, and the reception they 



A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 335 

receive at the hands of the children is one of the memor- 
able events in the current history of the town. Last year 
the veterans invited the children to their memorial serv- 
ice, and the latter sang several patriotic selections, which 
greatly increased the interest in the occasion. But the 
ravages of time are making great gaps in the ranks of the 
veterans and it will be only a little while when there will 
not be a single answer to the roll call. But the veterans 
need have no fear of being forgotten. With the large 
number of patriotic boys and girls growing up in the 
public schools of the town, their willing hands will take 
up the work, when the veterans lay it down for the last 
time, and thus continue the work of love down through 
the coming years. 

Dawning of a New Bristol. — On Monday evening, De- 
cember 12, 1910, the Street Committee of Town Council 
introduced a resolution into the session of council, pro- 
viding for the construction of a sewer system and a new 
water works, and the issue of two series of bonds, one 
series in the sum of $100,000, ,for the contruction of the 
new water works, and the other in the sum of $63,000 for 
the erection of a sewage and disposal plant. On Monday 
evening, January 10, 1911, the ordinance was passed by 
a vote of 14 to 2, and it is expected that work on both 
projects will begin this summer. 

At the meeting of Town Council, held on Monday eve- 
ning, December 12, 1910, Councilman Joseph R. Grundy 
proposed to present to the borough the handsome sum of 
$25,000 in cash, to be used in making certain improve- 
ments to the highways approaching the site for the new 
railroad station, in addition to his previously announced 
ofifer to deed several acres of land surrounding the station 
site, to the town for park purposes. The improvements 
referred to are the widening of Jefterson Avenue and 
Beaver Dam Road, each to sixty feet, the construction of 
a new bridge at the crossing of Beaver Dam Road and 
the canal, and the proper lighting of the streets and ave- 
nues which will furnish the main approaches to the new 
station. Surely the dawning of a greater and better 
Bristol seems to be at hand. 



33^ A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



APPENDIX. 



Being a Collection of Additional Items Obtained Too 
Late for Insertion in Their Chronological Position. 



Items From Diary of C. M, Foster. — May lo, 1867 • 
The tide in the Delaware River was the highest since 
1841. Passengers on the steamboats were taken off in 
small boats. 

November 9, 1867: The Catholic Church, a stone build- 
ing which stood on the site of the present church, was 
burned. 

May 30, 1868: The new steamboat Twilight made her 
first trip to Bristol, taking the place of Pilot Boy. 

November 23, 1868: The old freight house on Pond 
Street was burned. 

July 20, 1869 : Wm. Iv. Kelly's foundry on Wood Street 
was burned. The wind carried the sparks up Wood 
Street, setting fire to the roofs of the old Wood Street 
school house and the old Methodist Church, now Pythian 
Hall. The fire, however, was quickly extinguished with 
buckets of water, with but little damage to either 
building. 

November 11, 1870: A locomotive boiler exploded, a 
part of which was carried over to the schoolyard, iniuring 
the building. 

May 9, 1873 ■ Charles Michener was accidently struck 
and killed by a bat while playing baseball. 

December 11, 1874: The standpipe at the water works 
was raised into position and a string of American flags 
was hoisted to the top. On February i, 1875, the stand- 
jMpe was filled with water for the first time, and on Feb- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 337; 

ruary 13, the fire plug on the opposite side of the street 
was given its first trial. 

April 12, 1875: A canal boat loaded with coal for the 
John A. Warner, broke her lines on account of the very 
low tide, and slid out into the river, striking the Warner 
below the water line, breaking a hole in her iron plates 
and causing the water to rush into her lower cabin. The 
hole was temporarily stopped with cushions from the 
seats. The fire company was called out to help pump 
the water out and with the aid of the boat's engine, kept 
her from sinking until Philadelphia was reached, where 
she was hauled out on the dry dock and a patch put on 
the broken part. She resumed her trips next day. 

September 18, 1875 : The first hook and ladder truck 
of America Hose. Hook & Ladder Company, No. 2. was 
housed with appropriate ceremonies. 

January i, 1876: The Centennial was ushered in at 
12 o'clock P. M., with fireworks and ringing of bells. 

June 5, 1876: The new steamboat, Columbia, made her 
initial trip to Bristol. 

September 10, 1877 • -^ shock of earthquake was felt in 
Bristol. 

How Otter Street Received Its Name. — Otter Street 
and Otter Creek derived their name from John Otter, 
who owned the land on the south side of the creek. 

The Bristol Library. — The Bristol Library was organ- 
ized April 2, 1878, with Rev. Jas. H. Mason Knox, D. D., 
president; A. Weir Gilkeson, secretary, and Dr. G. W. 
Adams, treasurer. The library was opened in Washing- 
ton Hall, with three hundred and twenty-seven volumes, 
which number has since been increased to several thou- 
sand. The library is stationed at present in the old Pres- 
byterian Church building. Miss Esther Lawrence is 
librarian. , 

How Radcliffe Street was Named. — It is supposed that 
Radclifife Street was originally named after a suburbal 
portion of Bristol. England, known as Redclifife. The 
river Severn divides the heigfhts back of the town into 



338 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

two i)ai'ts, one of which is called "Clifton Dowmis," and 
the Other, "RedclilTe." One of the highest suspension 
bridges in the world connects the two suburbs. It is 
thought that with the passing of the years, the name 
Radclift'e superceded that of Redcliffe, the former being a 
corruption of the latter. 

How St. James' P. E. Church Extended the Boundaries 
of Its Land.— Although it has l)een generally understood, 
that Anthony Burton gave to the St. James' P. E. Church 
the ground embraced within its present boundaries, G. 
Morris Dorrance is authority for the statement that the 
part donated to the church by Burton only comprised a 
strip through the present grounds, upon which the church 
edifice now stands. The various extensions to the land 
were purchased by the church, as the deeds in Mr. Dor- 
rance's possession show. At one time it appears to have 
been the intention of the church to purchase all the land 
between Wood and Cedar Streets, up as far as Franklin 
Street, but lack of funds prevented the consummation of 
the plan. In 1856 the Baptist burial ground in the rear 
of the present church building was bought and annexed. 

More About the de Onis Marriage by Proxy. — During 
the fashionable watering place period, mention is made of 
the marriage by proxy of the eldest daughter of Don de 
Onis, the Spanish Minister, to a Spanish army ofificer. 
From the columns of the Bucks County Gazette the fol- 
lowing additional information has been obtained: 

"The time of the wedding had been fixed to take place 
at her home here on a set date. About the time the pros- 
pective groom was to leave Spain to fulfill his engage- 
ment, the government ordered his regiment on duty in 
active service and he could not be present. Then oc- 
curred the strangest wedding ceremony ever performed. 
It was done by proxy. The like had never been witnessed 
in this country. The bride's father represented his in- 
tended son-in-law and she was represented by his sister 
in Spain. The marriage took place at high twelve in both 
countries. Father Hogan, of the Catholic Church in Phil- 
adelphia, performed the ceremonv in Bristol." 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 



339 



"It was a grand affair and never before were so many 
: grenadiers of Spanish blood in Bristol at one time. Feast- 
ing and dancing were kept up till a late hour in the eve- 
ning. The afifair caused much criticism among the ladies 
in Bristol. Some thought such a marriage would not be 
-legal." 

Description of the First Episcopal Church. — A descrip- 
tion of the first Episcopal Church, erected in 1712, as 
given by G. Morris Dorrance, is as follows : 

"The building that Burton, Rowland, the De Norman- 
dies and others erected was one story high and was com- 




FIKST ST. JAMES' P. E. CHURCH. 



posed of brick and stone. The nave of the church con- 
tained but ten pews. In the walls on either side were 
two small windows. In the chancel were a communion 
table, a communion set purchased by the Commissioners 
of Queen Anne's Bounty and on which were wrought the 
coat of arms of Anne, and a reading desk. The pulpit 
Avas in the rear and underneath it stood the chair of the 
'clarke.' The first pew, directly under the reading desk, 



340 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

was reserved by the grant to the use of Anthony Burton 
and his heirs and assigns forever. A small spire rose 
above the nave. In 1739 it was by the vestry 'agreed that 
ye present church wardens build at the back of ye church 
between ye north windows, a vestry room eleven feet 
wide and sixteen feet back, one story high, and ye walls 
of brick and to build a chimney in the north end and all 
other conveniences that they may think necessary and to 
repair ye church windows and shutters and such other 
things that are needful to be done.' " 

The Beginning of the Public School System. — The 
"Act" creating the public school system of Pennsylvania, 
passed the Legislature in 1834. The first board of school 
directors in Bristol, elected under this act, was in 1835, 
and the first public school building was erected on Wood 
vStreet in 1837. 

A Whale in the Delaware. — In the old records it is 
recorded by Phineas Pemberton, that in 1688 a whale was 
seen in the Delaware river as far up as the falls. 

"Weston" Passes Through Bristol. — From an old citi- 
zen we learn that "Weston," the renowned "walker," 
passed through Bristol in 1861, while on his way to 
Washington, D. C, to witness the inauguration of Presi- 
dent Lincoln. He stopped for a brief period at the Rail- 
road House, then kept by William Early. When he re- 
sumed his journey he was met at the canal bridge by Jos- 
eph Tomlinson, a well-known resident of Bristol, who 
was noted for his speed as a walker. Down Otter Street 
the pair went at a rapid pace, side by side, but when the 
buttonwood trees at the sand hole were reached, Weston 
turned to Tomlinson and said: "Well, old man, you are a 
pretty good walker, but I've got to leave you," whereupon 
he made a spurt and to the great surprise and mortifica- 
tion of Tomlinson, was soon far in the lead. Tomlinson 
stopped at the Otter Creek bridge. "ITncle" Josie Tom- 
linson is remembered today by many of our citizens, and 
if "Weston" could surpass him in speed as a walker, all 
agree that he must have been far above the average. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL. BOROUGH. 34 1 

Leasy's Point a Noted Place. — Leasy's Point, men- 
tioned in the early part of this history, was situated on 
the New Jersey side, at the junction of Assiscunk Creek 
and the Delaware River, and was a noted place. In 1668, 
Governor Carteret granted permission to Peter Jegou to 
take up land there on condition that he would settle and 
erect a house of entertainment for travelers. This he 
agreed to do, and at the point he opened the first tavern 
on the river, a famous hostelry in its day. When Gov- 
ernor Lovelace visited the Delaware in 1672, it will be 
remembered that Captain Garland was sent forward to 
Jegou's house to make arrangements for his accommoda- 
tion, and persons were appointed to meet him there. The 
governor crossed at this point. George Fox, who visited 
the Delaware the same year, likewise crossed at Leasy's 
Point into Pennsylvania and thence continued on to the 
lower settlements. The house was subsequently called 
Point House, to which Governor Burnet opened one of 
his vistas from Burlington Island. 

More About the Willis (Buckley) House. — In Davis' 
History of Bucks County, we find that the old "Willis 
House," which stood on Radcliffe Street where Halzell's 
and Nesbit's houses now stand, was once owned by 
Ennion Williams, a thrifty cooper and baker, and a 
leader in Falls Meeting, who married Mary Hugg in 1725. 
It is related of him that while in possession of the Willis 
House, he set some men at work to dig the foundation 
for an addition to the dwelling. Hearing the pick of one 
of them strike a hard substance that did not sound like a 
stone, he threw the laborers some change and told them 
to get something to drink. When they returned they saw 
the print of an iron pot in the earth. He said he had 
changed his mind about building, and discharged them. 
After this he rapidly grew wealthy. He subsequently 
built the front portion to the Willis House, putting in 
the west end the letters and figures, "E. W., 1735," in 
blue brick . This house was afterward in the Buckley 
family, and was used as a bake house for the Continental 
soldiers while encamped here during the Revolutionary 
War. It was also to this house that Lafayette was taken 
after being wounded at the battle of Brandywine. 



342 A HISTORY OP BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Showing Dates of Ward Divisions. — Bristol was di- 
vided into three wards in 1878. In 1890 the Third Ward 
was siib-diA'idcd and the Fourth Ward was formed from 
the division above the mill race. The Second Ward was 
sub-divided in 1905, thus bringing into existence a new 
ward known as the Fifth, which embraced the land above 
Lafayette Street to Adam's Hollow Creek, and bounded 
on the east by the Delaware River and on the west by 
the canal. 

Bristol's Oldest Manufacturer.— Of that coterie of men, 
who, following' the period of the Civil War, aided in the 
industrial development of Bristol, Ex-Burgess Thomas 
B. Harkins, is the only one residing here today. Joshua 
Peirce, to whom Bristol owes much as its industrial 
pioneer, is now a resident of Tacoma, Washington. 
Charles E. Scheide is in New York. William H. Grundy, 
Charles Peirce, James M. Slack, Thomas Hughes, Sam- 
uel Appleton, Frederick Nevegold, Joeph Sherman, Fran- 
cis Fenimore and William Wilson are all deceased. Mr. 
Harkins started in the foundry business in Bristol in 
1871. and is presenting to his friends, this year, 1911, a 
neat souvenir nickle plated horseshoe, in celebration of 
the fortieth anniversary of the beginning of his business 
career. 

Bristol's Oldest Citizens. — \\'illiam H. Booz, of Cedar 
Street is the oldest native born citizen residing in Bristol, 
having been born in 1828, and with the exception of one 
year, has resided here his whole lifetime. Mrs. Margaret 
Stetler, who resides with her niece, Mrs. Joel Sooy, on 
Wood Street, is the oldest person in Bristol, being in the 
ninety-sixth year of her age. 

A Reference to the Vanzant Family. — Many persons 
have noticed the old willow trees, which stand near the 
lock tender's house in the rear of the Bristol Mills, now 
occupied by Howard Sigafoos. but never dreamed that 
an interesting piece of history was attached thereto. Back 
in the early forties of the last century, this house was 
occupied by the late Abel \^anzant. \vho was a bank boss 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 343 

and also had charge of the lock. When his first son. who 
is now our well-known citizen, Joseph H. Vanzant, was 
born, the happy father planted a willow tree in honor 
of the event. Upon the birth of each succeeding child, 
the father planted another tree, so that the trees which 
now stand are living reminders of the children of Abel 
Vanzant. 

Mrs. Mary Vanzant, the wife of Abel Vanzant, was 
a sister to School Director William Booz. Over her 
grave in the Bristol Cemetery, on a beautiful monument 
erected by her son, Joseph H. Vanzant, is this very in- 
teresting inscription : 

"When General Marquis de Lafayette, America's zeal- 
ous supporter and the esteemed friend of General George 
^^^ashington, passed through Bristol, September 4, 1824, 
on his second tour of the United State, the deceased was 
one of the flower girls who helped to decorate the 
triumphal arch, under which the general passed, upon 
his entrance into the towai at the old hollow bridge, Rad- 
cliffe Street" 

Earliest Settlement in Bucks County. — General Davis 
in his history of Bucks County claims that about 1624-25 
the West India Company established a trading house on 
a small island, called "Vurhulsten Island," after William 
Vurhulst, director of New Netherlands, near the west 
shore of the Delaware, just below Trenton Falls, and 
located upon it three or four families of French Walloons. 
The post was broken up about 1627, and the Walloons 
returned to New^ York, but a small vessel was retained in 
the river to keep up the fur trade. The island was oppo- 
site Morrisville, and the settlement upon it was undoubt- 
edly the earliest in this county and state. 

Showing the Origin of the African M. E. Church. — 
John Price, the well-known barber on Otter Street, in a 
historical sketch, written several years ago, claims that 
the P)ristol African M. E. Church was organized by Rev. 
George Longstreth, in the house of Sister Harriet Ward, 
which house stood between the old mill race and the 
railroad, north of the Mill Street crossing. Services were 



344 -^ HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

held here regularly for some time, until the congrega- 
tion outgrew the accommodations, when the meetings 
were transferred to the old cooper shop at the foot of 
Wood Street. About this time (1847), R^v. James Ross 
became the pastor of the little flock and his work was 
very successful. The church on Pond Street was dedi- 
cated by Bishop Brown, and at the same time placed in 
the Philadelphia District. Subsequently Bristol and 
Bensalem become one charge. The church removed to 
its present quarters in 1883, under the pastorate of Rev. 
Cuff. Bishop Brown also dedicated this new edifice. 

Conductor William Bailey and "Bailey's Line." — Back 
in the days when railroading was in its infancy, there 
came a man to Bristol, to work in the provision and 
clothing store of Cone & Tyler, whose name was Wil- 
liam Bailey. So closely did Bailey become associated 
with this period of the town's history, that this work 
would be incomplete without some reference to his name. 
After a time he found employment with the railroad, and 
became the conductor of the "early and late" accommoda- 
tion line, running between Trenton and I^hiladelphia. 
This train, tried as an experiment, soon proved a success. 
Such an arrangement being long needed, the traveling 
public generally expressed their thanks and commended 
the company for the favor. The train was known as 
"Bailey's Line." Some "wag" composed the following 
verses and dedicated them to Conductor Bailey : 

Long have I known our Yankee friend, 

Who now is often heard 
Cry "all aboard," then "go ahead," 

"This, this train's the early bird." 

He's always in a pleasant mood. 

Nor does he trouble dread; 
Rut strives to please his passengers. 

Who like the "go ahead." 

The people who may ride with him 

Need never fear delays, 
Because as soon as time is up, 

'Tis "go ahead." he says. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOIv BOROUGH. 345 

Although two mornings in each week, 

His train is somewhat late; 
But even then he "goes ahead," 

In spite of all the freight. 

The company did very well 

In making such selection; 
For socially, friend Bailey has, 

A very wide connection. 

"He is a man whom I do like," 

Are words which I hear daily; 
And then because he "goes ahead," 

There's many go with Bailey. 

Not only is he much beloved. 

By mankind not a few; 
But he is held in high esteem 

By many ladies, too. 

"How handy is this early train," 

The masses do exclaim. 
And with Conductor Bailey, 

There's no room to complain. 

National Rivers and Harbors Committee Visits Bristol. 

— Saturday, June 3. 191 1, was a "big" day in the history 
of Bristol. It was known that the Rivers and Harbors 
Committee of the Federal Congress would pass down the 
river in the afternoon, on their trip from New York to 
Philadelphia via of the Delaware and Raritan Canal and 
the Delaware River, for the purpose of viewing the sec- 
tion through which the proposed ship canal should be 
constructed, which, with the deepening of the Delaware 
River, will connect New York and Philadelphia. Through 
the efiforts of "The Daily Courier." the committee agreed 
to stop at Bristol a short time, to permit the town to 
show its respect and interest in the deeper waterways 
project. The "M. S. Quay," which carried the Congres- 
sional Committee, tied up at the Market Street wharf, 
where a committee of citizens went on board. Assembly- 
man Franklin Gilkeson addressed the committee and his 
welcome was responded to by Congressman Stephen M. 
Sparkman, of Florida, chairman of the committee. It 
was not expected that the various members of the com- 
mittee would speak, but to the surprise of all. Congress- 



346 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

man G. Hampton Moore, who had planne<l the trip., 
turned to the large crowd gathered on the wharf, and 
after explaining to them the meaning of the trip, said he 
felt it was only fair that they should meet the members 
of the committee. Addresses were then made by the fol- 
lowing Congressmen, members of the Rivers and Har- 
bors Committee : Judge Geo. W. Taylor, of Alabama ; 
Chas. G. Edwards, of Georgia ; J. Edwin Ellerbe, of South 
Carolina; Daniel A. Driscoll, of New York; W. E. Hum- 
phreys, of Washington ; Michael Donohoe, of Philadel- 
phia. An address was also made by Joseph E. Ramsdell. 
president of the National River and Harbors Congress. 
When the "Quay" left the wharf, it was escorted down 
the river for a short distance by the boats of the Anchor 
Yacht Club. The houses along the river were decorated 
with flags in honor of the occasion, and when the "Quay'" 
came in sight of Bristol, the whistles on all the mills be- 
gan to blow. The demonstration, informal though it 
was, made a profound impression upon the members of 
the Congressional Committee. 

More Reminiscences of By-Gone Days. — -Back in 1840- 
50, when the canal trade was at its height, a large store 
was kept near the lock back of the Bristol Mills, by the 
Allen Brothers. In the year 1850 it was destroyed by 
fire, the loss being heavy. Below the Allen store was 
another, which was operated by Josiah Dilks. Isaac 
Winder, the father of our well-known townsman, Jacob 
M. Winder, was a clerk in this store. Back of the prop- 
erty on Mill Street, now occupied by Dr. C. E. King, 
along the canal basin, was a store kept by John Aber- 
nethy. He dealt in old iron and being the only one in 
that business, the boatmen all knew him and used to 
call him "Rowby." as a nickname. In an old house at 
the foot of Mill Street, John Scull opened an oyster 
saloon. Op])Osite to Scull's saloon on the site now occu- 
pied by Phillip Winter's boat house, was a stone dwelling 
occupied by Joshua Osmond. At the foot of his yard 
would often lay fifty or more canal boats loaded with coal 
awaiting orders. One day a well-known young man with 
several com])anions, was ])laying a game of cards on one 



; A HlStOlKY OF BRISTOI< BOROUGH. 347 

of the canal boats. A row occurred and when the young 
man's body was found next day, from marks upon his 
head, he was supposed to have been murdered by being 
struck by some hard instrument. Great excitement pre- 
vailed throughout the town. Several arrests were made, 
but no incriminating evidence could be found and the 
matter remains a mystery to this day. 

Above Wood Street, along the basin, stood two cooper 
shops, one of which was operated by William and Robert 
Sanderson. One of the old cooper shops is still standing, 
being occupied as a storehouse by Wm. M. Downing. 
The other cooper shop was used for some time by the 
colored people, as a place of worship. When their quar- 
terly meeting time arrived, the colored brethren and sis- 
ters from all the surrounding country-side would flock: 
into Bristol, and their jubilee hymns could be heard for 
squares away. Hundreds of the white brethren were also 
attracted and when the collection hats were passed 
around, the ministers would give the white brethren to 
understand that nothing but silver would be accepted. 
As a result, the oifferings were some times exceedingly 
large. It was in these meetings that the Bristol African 
Methodist Church enjoyed a period of rapid development. 
The only living colored person in Bristol today, who was 
identifiecl with those meetings in the old cooper shop, is 
Mrs. Henrv Blake, the aged servant, now in the employ 
of Emil Erthal, the Mill Street druggist. 

A few recollections of Mill Street during this period 
may prove interesting reading. The old brick mansion on 
the' south side, near the railroad crossing, now occupied 
by Maria Barton, was then tenanted by Joseph Warner 
and later by Jesse W. Knight, and still later by Ellwood 
Doron. Where Jacob M. Winder now conducts a bot- 
tling establishment at the corner of Mill and Pond Streets, 
was a vacant lot used as a chicken yard by a Mr. Eouder- 
bough. who lived in the adjoining residence. Aunt Patty 
Cooper lived for a time in the house next to Mr. Louder- 
bough and the house now used as a tin store by William 
Girton, was occupied by Robert Hall, a well-known tailor 
of that day. Mr. Hall's youngest son, Samuel, was mur- 
dered at New Brunswick, where he was employed in a 
24 



348 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Store, by another boy, who stabbed him in the heart. The 
boy was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 
life imprisonment. 

Wm. Sanderson, who conducted the cooper shop previ- 
ously referred to, occupied the store property now used 
by W. M. Downing and the house adjoining, now the 
home of Mr. Downing, was occupied by Gilbert Tomlin- 
son, one of Bristol's well-known and respected citizens. 
Mr. Tomlinson had two sons, Thomas and Collin, and 
a monument marks the spot where the remains of the 
former lie buried in St. James' churchyard. Mr. Tom- 
linson conducted a coal wharf and his offices were in the 
vicinity of the water works. In the property now occu- 
pied by Robert Pearson, lived a man named William 
Bray, who was a dealer in stoves and had his workshop 
in the cellar. Next door, where Geo. L. Horn resided for 
many years, was a bakery conducted by George Vanzant. 
This was one of the first bakeries in the town and its 
proprietor built up a large business. Mr. Vanzant had 
five sons, all of whom are dead. His grandson, Jos. H. 
Vanzant, is the only surviving member of the Vanzant 
family. 

Next door to the Vanzant home, was another bakery, 
which sat back from the street. It was conducted by 
Owen Donnell. On the lot in front were two small dwell- 
ings, one occupied by Edward Bernasco, a harness maker, 
and the other by Jonathan Lovett, a shoemaker. Mr. 
Bernasco's son now carries on a large harness-making 
business at Burlington, N. J. The property at the west 
-corner of Mill and Wood Streets, was occupied by the 
Allen Brothers, dealers in general merchandise. The 
names of the brothers were George, Goforth and Joseph. 
On the opposite corner, now occupied by the residence 
and shoe store of Phillip Winter, was a little frame build- 
ing occupied by Kinsey Evans, who conducted a stove 
and tin business. In the rear of this building, near the 
canal basin, John Holt and Robert Holt carried on the 
blacksmith business. Adjoining the store of Mr. Evans, 
was a variety shop kept by a well-known citizen named 
William Sharp. He was more familiarly known as "Dad- 
dy" Sharp. Adjoining his building was the quaint old 
printing office owned by William Bache, Bristol's pioneer 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 349 

newspaper man. It was from this shop that "Bache's In- 
dex" was issued in 1861. In the old buildings now owned 
by McMullen Brothers, lived a French shoemaker named 
Doerer, and Isaac demons, who was also a shoemaker. 

On the site of the McMullen residence, somewhat to 
the rear, stood a one-story frame building owned and 
occupied by Mrs. Patty Crosby. Her grandson, Alfred, 
was called by the boys, "Fourteen Apple Dumplings Al." 
It was said that his grandmother once baked fourteen 
apple dumplings, and Alfred coming home from a long 
tramp in the country, sat down and devoured them all, 
hence his nickname, "Fourteen Apple Dumplings 
Al." The McMullen homestead was erected on 
the front of the lot by Jacob Hamilton, whose wife 
carried on the millinery business. The Roper 
property was occupied by Alexander Sturdevant and 
family. Mr. Sturdevant had two sons, Elwood 

and Charles. He was a collector for the Lehigh Coal 
Company, and his old office has been used since as an 
office for the marble yard at the foot of Mill Street. The 
two buildings now owned by Samuel Whitaker, were 
erected originally as a carpenter shop for John Town- 
send. The property later came into possession of the 
Brelsford sisters, who reconstracted the building by 
turning it into two dwelling houses. They occupied one 
of the dwellings and Campbell Johnson the other. Later 
Mr. Johnson moved into the old building adjoining, now 
owned by Joseph H. Vanzant. This latter building is one 
of Bristol's old landmarks, having been erected in 1795- 
It was occupied at one time by Squire Joseph Penning- 
ton. The house adjoining stood back from the street and 
had a beautiful front yard. It was occupied by Wm. 
Kurtz and later by Wm. Osmond. The brick dwelling 
owned by Dr. Howard Pursell and now rented by Axel 
Swain, was built in 1801. It was occupied for many 
years by Wm. Osmond, who was a baker by trade. A 
man named William Israel carried on the bottling busi- 
ness in the property occupied by Dr. Pursell. Later a 
restaurant was kept in the same building by William 
Jeffries. 

The hotel on the adjoining corner, owned by William 
Silbert, was occupied in 1848 by Louis Hoguet as a drug 



350 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Store. The Swift family lived in the building next door, 
now used by Frank Peirce as a barber shop. Mrs. Swift 
and her daughter, Matilda, were school teachers in the 
old Wood Street building. Andrew Gilkeson owned the 
building adjoining and it was here that the late B. F. 
Gilkeson, Esq., was born. Two frame buildings stood 
next door, one of which was occupied by Joshua Buck- 
man as a dry goods store. In an ancient dwelling ad- 
joining, was a barber shop conducted by George Barber. 
Later Robert Patterson occupied it for many years, as a 
hat and cap store. Where John Stuckert has his law- 
office stood an old dwelling owned by the Harkless 
family. It later came into possession of John Vanzant 
and was removed to another site and the present build- 
ing erected. In the stone building now used as a stove 
and tin store by Lewis J. Bevan, was a cabinet making- 
shop conducted by Cornelius Costello and a stove and tin 
store by Wm. Sulgar. The corner property had many 
tenants among whom was Christopher Riley, who car- 
ried on the newspaper business. Crossing over to the 
other side of the street, we come to the Delaware House, 
a full account of which is published under a separate 
heading. John Bessonett was proprietor, and he was 
succeeded by Lewis Pratt. 

In the ancient dwelling at the northwest corner of Mill 
and Ratcliffe Streets, now occupied by J. Curtis Howell, 
a dry goods and grocery store was kept by John Bailey. 
He was succeeded in the business by Nathan Tyler and 
Morton Walmsley. Adjoining this property on Mill 
Street were three frame dwellings. John Vanzant con- 
ducted a cigar store in the one ne.xt to the corner prop- 
erty. Adjoining the cigar store a shoe store was kept 
by James Jamison and next to Jamison's, John Scull re- 
sided and conducted an oyster saloon in the basement. In 
the winter of 1857 these three houses were destroyed by 
fire. The old stone house now occupied by the family of 
the late Wm. P. Wright, was tenanted by Mrs. Lydia 
Lukens, whose notion store is remembered by many of 
our citizens today. Later the property was purchased b}^ 
Joseph Kinsey, who opened a hardware store. In the 
building now owned by Emil Erthal, Charles Pratt kept 
a store. Later a restaurant was conducted here by Wil- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 35 1 

Ham Jeffries, and still later Charles Pascoe started a shoe 
store in the building-. The corner property now used by 
Jas. Clark as a jewelry store was then used as a dry goods 
store by Thomas Callanarn. On the corner now occupied 
by the Child's building, was an old structure in which 
Betsy Stackhouse kept a grocery and candy store. Later 
the store was occupied by Jonathan Milnor, the father of 
our fellow townsman, C. Wesley Milnor, Taylor & Gar- 
wood, Joseph Vanzant and Milton Webster. 

The brick house occupied so many years by Dr. E. J. 
Groom, was the home of Dr. John Phillips and Dr. Lor- 
ing Peirce. In the building where the Bristol News 
Agency is now established, and where Claude Harris con- 
ducts a fruit store, Symington Phillips lived and adjoin- 
ing his home a liquor store was kept by Felix Mullison. 
Next door, Nathan McCorkle carried on the tailoring 
business and in the adjoining property was a ladies' hoop 
manufactory conducted by a Mr. Wilkinson. John 
Shade's bottling establishment was later started here, and 
it was in this building where Joseph Vanzant started his 
antic}ue furniture store, which afterward became distin- 
guished as the "Noah's Ark." In the next building. Dr. 
John Phillips had his office. Adjoining Dr. Phillips' 
office, the two houses which occupied the site of the pres- 
ent residences of Max Cohen and Miss Ada L. Brown, 
were built by Joseph and James Foster, in 1852. The 
next old style brick building in which Townsnd's restau- 
rant is now located, was owned and occupied by Thomas 
Scott for many years. Later Washington Wilson opened 
a clothing store in the building. Still later the building 
was used by Charles Ahlee and Hazel Hibbs as an ice 
cream and candy manufactory. In the two buildings ad- 
joining, now occupied by S. Levinson and M. Spector, 
lived John Adams and Robert Booz, the former being the 
proprietor of a shoe store. 

James Brudon kept the leading grocery store in the 
town-, in the building now occupied by the new 5 and 10 
cent store. In 1852 Mrs. Hester and Mary Adams kept 
a notion store in the building now occupied by Groff & 
Brudon. In the corner property, where is now located 
the jewelry store of Byram Foster, lived Campbell John- 
son, who followed the trade of wheelwright. On the 



352 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

opposite corner, now occupied by Johnson Brothers, 
Charles Sulgar conducted a bakery. He was followed by 
James Foster, who carried on the grocery business, and 
later by Nathan Roberts, who conducted a flour and feed 
store. In the building now occupied by Bayles' jewelry 
store, Joseph Foster was in the same business. Later 
Mrs. J. M. Brown opened a millinery store in the same 
place. Joseph Wright opened the first harness-making 
business in Bristol in the building at present occupied by 
Strumfels' cigar store. The two adjoining buildings 
were occupied as a tin store by Charles & Serrill Doug- 
lass. Isaac Brown, a colored man, owned the property 
now in possession of the Singer Brothers. This prop- 
erty was later purchased by John Brelsford. Between 
this property and the corner store was the old David 
Swain home. Mr. Swain carried on the business of 
cabinet maker for many years. The corner property now 
known as "Bell's Corner," was built and occupied by the 
firm of Bostwick & Cabeen, which firm conducted the 
largest dry goods and grocery business in the town. 

On the opposite corner the dwelling was occupied for 
many years by J. Merrick Brown. The Railroad House 
was kept by Jacob Poole and Wm. Early. Betsy Wright 
kept a candy shop in the old building adjoining, and in 
the next building, now owned by John McOwen, Jackson 
Hibbs ran a grocery store. In an old building which was 
built directly over the mill race, John Costello conducted 
a drug store. Across the single railroad track which ran 
through the town, was a soap factory and adjoining this 
a wheelwright shop ran by Phillip Blackwood. It was 
afterward occupied by Jonathan Street as a grocery 
store. (Contributed by Joseph H. Vanzant.) 

Bristol Borough to Purchase Water Works. — Just as 
the final forms of this work are ready for the press, the 
stockholders of the Bristol Water Company have agreed 
to sell their plant to the Borough for the sum of $112,640. 
Joseph R. Grundy offers to make up difference between 
the bond issue ($100,000) provided for by Town Council, 
and the purchase price. Pie also proposes to pay the cost 
of contructing a new water tower of 150,000 gallons, 
which involves an additional donation of $8,000. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 353 



BOROUGH OFFICERS. 



1720. Burgesses, Joseph Bond, John Hall; High Con- 
stable, Thomas Clifford. 

1730. Burgesses, John Hall, Nathan Watson; High 
Constable, John Priestly; Council, John Abram DeNor- 
mandie, Ennion Williams, Thomas Marriott, James 
Higgs, John Elfreth, William Hope. 

1731. Burgesses, John Abram DeNormandie, Nathan 
Watson; High Constable, John Priestly; Council, Thom- 
as Marriott, James Higgs, Ennion Williams, Benjamin 
Wright, John Elfreth, William Hope. 

1732. Burgesses, John Hall, Ennion Williams; Coun- 
cil, John Abraham DeNormandie, Thomas Marriott, Ben- 
jamin Wright, James Higgs, William Hope, John El- 
freth. 

1742. Burgesses, John Abram DeNormandie, John 
Frohoe ; High Constable, John Hutchinson ; Council, 
Josepth Jackson, William Buckley, Thomas Marriott, 
Ennion Williams, Nicholas Allen, Matthew Keen. 

1743-44. Burgesses, John Abraham De Normandie, 
John Frohoe ; High Constable, John Hutchinson ; Coun- 
cil. Ennion Williams, Thomas Marriott, Joseph Jackson, 
John Anthony De Normandie, William Buckley. 

1745. Burgesses, John Hall, William Buckley; Coun- 
cil, John Abram DeNormandie, Ennion Williams, Thom- 
as Marriott, Joseph Jackson, William Atkinson, John 
Frohoe. 

1746. Burgesses, John Hall, William Buckley; High 
Constable, John Priestly; Council, John Abram De Nor- 
mandie, Ennion Williams, John Frohoe. William Atkin- 
son, John Anthony DeNormandie, WillTam DeNor- 
mandie. 

1747. Burgesses. William Buckley, Matthias Keen; 
High Constable, John Priestly; Council, John Abram De- 



354 -'^ HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Norniandie, John Hall, Alexander Graydon, Ennion Wil- 
liams, Thomas Marriott, Joseph Jackson (John Anthony 
DeNormandie, John Frohoe, Samuel Harker, elected 
February 29, 1745, to fill vacancies). 

1748. Burgesses, William Buckley, John DeNorman- 
die; High Constable, John Priestly; Council, John Abram 
DeNormandie, Ennion Williams, Alexander Graydon, 
John Hall, John Frohoe, Samuel Harker, Nicholas Allen, 
John Hutchinson, Joseph Church. 

1749. Burgesses William Buckley, John DeNorman- 
die; Council, Joseph Atkinson, William Large, John 
Abram DeNormandie, Ennion Williams, Alexander 
Graydon, Samuel Harker, Nicholas Allen, John Hutch- 
inson, Joseph Church. 

1750. Burgesses, William Buckley, William Large; 
Council, Ennion Williams, John Abram DeNormandie, 
Alexander Graydon, Joseph Atkinson, Joseph Church, 
Thomas Marriott. 

1751. Burgesses, William Buckley, Joseph Church; 
High Constable, John Priestly; Council, John Abram De- 
Normandie, Alexander Graydon, Joseph Atkinson, Wil- 
liam Large, Ennion Williams, John Allen, Bernard Duf- 
field, Thomas Marriott, Anthony Murphy. 

1752-53. Burgesses, William Buckley, Thomas Mar- 
riott; High Constable, John Priestly; Council, Ennion 
Williams, Alexander Graydon, John A. DeNormandie, 
Joseph Church, William Large, John Allen, Joseph At- 
kinson. Thomas Stapler, Ebenezer Robinson. 

1754. Burgesses, William Buckley, Thomas Marriott; 
High Constable, John Priestly; Council, Ennion Wil- 
liams, Alexander Graydon, John A. DeNormandie, Jos- 
eph Church, William Large, John Allen, Joseph Atkin- 
son, Thomas Stapler, Matthew Keen. 

1755- Burgesses, John DeNormandie, Joseph Atkin- 
son ; High Constable, John Priestly ; Council, John 
Abram DeNormandie, Ennion Williams, Alexander 
Graydon, William Buckley. Joseph Church, William 
Large, John Allen, Thomas Marriott, Matthias Keen. 

1756. Burgesses, John DeNormandie, Joseph Atkin- 
son ; High Constable, John Priestly; Council, John Abram 
DeNormandie, Ennion Williams, Thomas Stapler, Wil- 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 355 

liam Buckley, John Hutchinson, William Large, John 
Allen Thomas Marriott, Matthias Keen. 

1757. Burgesses, William Buckley, Joseph Atkinson; 
Hio^i Constable, John Priestly; Council, Ennion Wil- 
Hans John Abmm DeNormandie, Alexander Graydon 
\\ niiini Laree John Allen, Thomas Marriott, Samuel 
wSn John Hutchinson,' Daniel DeNormandie. 

I7c8 Burgesses, John DeNormandie, William Large; 
High Constable, John Priestly; Council Ennion Wi - 
Hams, Alexander Graydon William Buckley John Hu - 
chinson, John Allen, Daniel DeNormandie, Thomas Mar 
riott Joseph Atkinson, Burnet Richards. 

T7CQ Buro-esses, Ennion Williams, William Large; 
Hig'l'coifSe Abraham Bulsford; Council, Alexai.der 
Grfydon, Thomas Marriott, John Hutchinson, Joseph At- 
kinson? Burnet Richards, John Priestly, John Allen, John 
DeNormandie, David Pinkerton. 

1760 Burgesses, Hugh Hartshorne, Burnet Richards ; 
Higir Constable, John Priestly; Council, Ennion Wi - 
liams, Alexander Graydon, Thomas Marriott John Hut- 
chinson, Joseph Church, Joseph Atkinson, John Allen, 
Tohn Green, T- DeNormandie. 

^1761 Burgesses, John Hall, John Green; High Con- 
stable, Sam.rel Woolson ; Council Enmon Wi lianas, 
Hu-h Hartshorne, John DeNormandie John Allen, Wil- 
liam Large, Joseph Atkinson, Joseph Church. 

1762. Burgesses, Hugh Hartshorne, John Pnesly 
High Constable, Joseph Brown; Council Ennion Wi- 
iTams, John DeNormandie, John Hall, Wilham Mdl- 
vaine, Joseph Atkinson, William Large, Joseph Church. 

1763. Burgesses, Hugh Hartshorne David Pinker- 
ton- High Constable, Joseph Brown; Council, Ennion 
Williams, John DeNormandie, Joseph Atkinson Joseph 
Church, William Large, John Allen, John P"est 7. 

1764 Burgesses, John Priestly, Joseph Hall High 
Constable, Joseph Brown; Council, Ennion Williams, 
Hugh Hartshorne, Joseph Church, Joseph Atkinson, 
Jonathan Haight, William Mcllvain, John Green 

176s lUirlesses, Phineas Buckley, John Hutchinson 
Council. Ennion Williams, Hugh Hartshorne, Joseph 



356 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Church, Joseph Atkinson, Jonathan Haight, Joseph Hall, 
John Green. 

1766. Burgesses, Phineas Buckley, John Bessonett ; 
Council, Ennion Williams, Hugh Hartshorne, John De- 
Normandie, Joseph Atkinson, Jonathan Haight, John 
Green, John Priestly. 

1768-74. Burgesses, Phineas Buckley, John Bessonett ; 
High Constable, Joseph Brown ; Council, Ennion Wil- 
liams, John DeNormandie, Hugh Hartshorne, John 
Priestly, Joseph Atkinson, John Green, Charles Besson- 
ett. (Green was succeeded by Patterson Hartshorne in 
1772, and Priestly by John Hutchinson in 1773.) 

1774-75. Burgesses, Phineas Buckley, John Bessonett; 
Council, Ennion Williams, John Abram DeNormandie, 
Hugh Hartshorne, Joseph Atkinson, Charles Bessonett, 
John Hutchinson, William Mcllvaine. (Joseph Church 
succeeded Charles Bessonett in 1775, and John Gosline 
became High Constable in that year.) 

1784-85. Burgesses, Daniel Kennedy, Joseph Clunn;. 
High Constable, Richard Gosline ; Council, William Mc- 
llvaine, Joseph Mcllvaine, Charles Bessonett, Archibald 
McElroy, John Gosline, John Dowdney, John Priestly. 
(William Rodman succeeded Priestly in 1785.) 

1786. Burgesses, Amos Gregg, Thomas Pearson ; 
High Constable, Richard Gosline; Council, Joseph Mcll- 
vaine, Archibald McElroy, John Hutchinson, Timothy 
Merrick, Job Stackhouse, Joseph Vanschiver, Jonathan 
Pursell. 

1787. Burgesses, Amos Gregg, Thomas Pearson; 
High Constable, Richard Gosline ; Council, John Hutchin- 
son, Charles Bessonett, Robert Merrick, Job Stackhouse, 
Timothy Merrick, Jonathan Pursell, William Allen. 

1788-89. Burgesses, John Hutchinson, Thomas Pear- 
son ; High Constable, Timothy Merrick ; Council, Samuel 
Kinsey, Amos Gregg, William Mcllvaine, Pearson 
Mitchell, Job Stackhouse, Jonathan Pursell. (Archibald 
McElroy succeeded Gregg in 1789.) 

1790. Burgesses, John Hutchinson, Joseph Clunn; 
High Constable, John Murray; Council, William Mcll- 
vaine, Archibald McElroy, Pearson Mitchell, Thomas 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 357 

Pearson, Samuel Kinsey, Timothy Merrick, Jonathan 
Pursell. 

1791. Burgesses, John Hutchinson, Jonathan Pursell; 
High Constable, John Murray; Council, Archibald Mc- 
Elroy, Joseph Clunn, Thomas Pearson, Pearson Mitchell, 
Samuel Kinsey, Timothy Merrick, Joseph Minnick. 

1792-93. Burgesses, Joseph Minnick, John Gosline ; 
High Constable, John Murray; Council, Archibald Mc- 
Elroy, Charles Bessonett, Thomas Pearson, Timothy 
Merrick, Samuel Kinsey, Jonathan Pursell, James Harri- 
son. (Joseph Clunn and William Crawford succeeded 
McElroy and Bessonett in 1793.) 

1794. Burgesses, Joseph Minnick, Robert Merrick; 
Council, Archibald McElroy, Charles Bessonett, George 
Merrick, Timothy Merrick, Samuel Kinsey, Jonathan 
Pursell, Job Stackhouse. 

1795. Burgesses, Amos Gregg, Richard Trimble; 
High Constable, Richard Merrick, Jr. ; Council, Samuel 
Kinsey, John Gosline, John Hutchinson, Joseph Clunn, 
Charles Bessonett, Job Stackhouse, Benjamin Walton. 

1796. Burgesses, Joseph P. Minnick, John Gosline; 
High Constable, Francis Stackhouse; Council, Joseph 
Clunn, Amos Gregg, Job Stackhouse, Timothy Merrick, 
Jonathan Pursell, William Crawford, Lewis Howard. 

1797. Burgesses, Charles Shoemaker, John Gosline; 
High Constable, Francis Stackhouse; Council, Joseph 
Clunn, John Hutchinson, Job Stackhouse, Amos Gregg, 
Samuel Kinsey, Jonathan Pursell, William Crawford. 

1798. Burgesses, Amos Gregg, Joseph P. Minnick; 
High Constable, Francis Stackhouse ; Council, William 
Crawford, John Hutchinson, Richard Lloyd, James Har- 
rison, James Serrill, Joseph Stackhouse, John Baldwin. 

1799. Burgesses, John Gosline, Archibald McElroy; 
High Constable, Francis Stackhouse ; Council, Joseph 
Clunn, John Hutchinson, Job Stackhouse, Jonathan Pur- 
sell, William Crawford, Richard Lloyd, John Hutchin- 
son, Jr. 

1802. Burgesses, Samuel Scotton, William Perkins; 
High Constable, William Crawford ; Council, John Gos- 
line, Amos Gregg, Joseph Clunn, Joseph Headley, Jona- 
than Pursell, James Harrison, John Read. 



358 A HISTORY OF BRISTOi^ BOROUGH. 

1803. Burgesses, William Perkins, Samuel Scotton , 
High Constable John Johnson ; Council, Joseph Clunn, 
Jonathan Pursell, Joseph Headley, Benjamin Swain, Wil- 
liam McElhaney, William Crawford, John Reed. 

1804. Burgesses, Samuel Scotton, William Perkins; 
High Constable, John Johnson ; Council, Joseph Headley, 
Benjamin Swain, Joseph Clunn, William McElhaney, 
^^'illiam Crawford, Amos Gregg, Job Stackhouse. 

1805. Ikirgesses, Amos Gregg, Henry Disborough ; 
High Constable, Enos Wright; Council, Joseph Clunn, 
John Reed, William Crawford, Samuel Church, John 
Patterson. Noah Haines, Joseph Headley. 

1806. Burgesses, John Gosline, Henry Disborough; 
High Constable. Enos Wright ; Council, Joseph Clunn, 
William Crawford, Samuel Scotton, William Mcllhany, 
Benjamin Swain, Joseph Headley, John Patterson. 

1807. Burgesses, Amos Gregg, John Reed ; High Con- 
stable. William Kinsey; Council, Phineas Buckley, Job 
Stackhouse. Samuel Lounsbury. John White, Samuel 
Church, Joseph Stackhouse, Stephen Hibbs. 

1808-9. Burgesses, Amos Gregg, J. S. Mitchell; High 
Constable. William Kinsey; Council, Phineas Buckley, 
Joseph Headley, Job Stackhouse. Ebenezer Headley, Jos- 
eph Stackhouse, Jonathan Pursell, William Crawford. 
(John Reed succeeded CraAvford in 1809.) 

1810. Burgesses, Amos Gregg, J. S. Mitchell ; High 
Constable, William Kinsey; Council, Phineas Buckley, 
Samuel Scotton, Jonathan Pursell, Joseph Stackhouse, 
John Reed, Abraham Warner, Samuel Church. 

1811-12. Burgesses, Amos Gregg, Henry Disborough; 
High Constable. Henry Tomlinson ; Council. Joseph 
Clunn, Phineas Buckley, Jonathan Pursell, John Reed, 
Samuel Church. Abraham Warner. Samuel Lounsberry. 
(William Ennis became High Constable in 1812.) 

1813. Burgesses, Archibald McElroy, John Besson- 
ett ; High Constable. Henry 'J'omlinson ; Council, Joseph 
Clunn, John Patterson, John White, David Swain, Wil- 
liam Crawford, Hugh Tomb, Joseph Vanzant. 

1815. Burgesses, Archibald McElroy, John White; 
High Constable, Abraham Hagerman; Council, Joseph 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 359 

Clunn, William Crawford, John Patterson, John Besson- 
ett, Benjamin Swain, Isaac Pitcher. 

1816-17. Burgesses, Louis Bache, Abraham Warner; 
High Constable, John H. Merrick (Abraham Hagerman 
in 181 7) ; Council, Benjamin Swain, Henry Disborough, 
Isaac Pitcher, Amos Gregg. John Bessonett, John Phil- 
lips, John Reed. 

1818. Burgesses, Archibald AlcElroy, William Craw- 
ford; High Constable, Charles Snyder; Council, Amos 
Gregg, Benjamin Swain, John Bessonett, John Reed, 
Ebenezer Stackhouse, David Swain. 

1819. Burgesses, Archibald McElroy, John White; 
High Constable, John Johnson; Council, John G. Priest- 
ly, Isaac Pitcher. Samuel Lewis, Henry Tomlinson, 
Ebenezer Stackhouse, John Bessonett, Lewis P. Kinsey. 

1820. Burgesses, Archibald McElroy, Henry Disbor- 
ough ; High Constable, John T. Brown ; Council, Eben- 
ezer Stackhouse, John Bessonett, John Kinsey, Isaac 
Pitcher, John White, Fincher Hellings, John Johnson. 

1821. Burgesses, John Phillips, Benjamin Swain; 
High Constable. John T. Brown ; Council, John Reed, 
William Crawford, Ebenezer Stackhouse, John Hutchin- 
son, Samuel Allen, Joseph Warner, L. P. Kinsey. 

1822. Burgesses, John Phillips, Henry Disborough; 
High Constable, John T. Brown ; Council, Benjamin 
Swain, Joseph Warner, Samuel Allen, David Dorrance, 
William F. Swift, Ebenezer Stackhouse, William Craw- 
ford. 

1823. Burgesses, Joseph Warner, Henry Disborough ; 
High Constable. John T. Brown ; Council, William Craw- 
ford, Ebenezer Stackhouse. John Hutchinson, Benjamin 
Swain, Samuel Allen, John Kinsey, Isaac Wilson. 

1824. Burgesses, David Dorrance, Joseph M. Down- 
ing; High Constable, John T. Brown; Council, David 
Swain. James Johnson, Robert Cabeen, John Heiss, Wil- 
liam F. Swift, John White. 

1825. Burgesses, Joseph Warner, Joseph M. Down- 
ing; High Constable, William Gale; Council. Ebenezer 
Stackhouse, Benjamin Swain, Samuel Allen, Robert Ca- 
been. William F. Swift. John Kinsey, John Bessonett. 

1826. Burgesses, Joseph Warner, Joseph M. Down- 



360 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

ing; High Constable, John Johnson; Council, Ebenezer 
Stackhouse, Benjamin Swain, William F. Swift, Samuel 
Allen, Robert Cabeen, John Bessonett, John Kinsey. 

1827. Burgesses, Joseph Warner, Joseph M. Down- 
ing; High Constable, John Johnson; Council, Robert Ca- 
been, Samuel Allen, Benjamin Swain, William F. Swift, 
John Bessonett, John Kinsey, William Laing. 

1828. Burgesses, Joseph M. Downing, Benjamin 
Swain ; High Constable, John Johnson ; Council, Robert 
Cabeen, John Bessonett, Samuel Allen, William Laing, 
John Hutchinson, John Boyd, L. P. Kinsey. 

1829. Burgesses, Joseph Warner, Benjamin Swain; 
High Constable, William Kinsey; Council, Samuel Allen, 
Robert Cabeen, William Laing, John Hutchinson, John 
Boyd, L. P. Kinsey, John Bessonett. 

1830. Burgesses, Joseph Warner, Joseph M. Down- 
ing; High Constable, William Kinsey; Council, John 
Bessonett, Samuel Allen, Robert Cabeen, William Laing, 
Robert C. Beatty, Eleazer Fenton, L. P. Kinsey. 

1831. Burgesses, Joseph Warner. James Johnson; 
High Constable, William Kinsey; Council, John Bes- 
sonett, Edward Swain, Robert Cabeen, William Hawk, 
Robert C. Beatty, Eleazer Fenton, L. P. Kinsey. 

1832-33. Burgesses, William F. Smith, James John- 
son; High Constable, William Kinsey; Council, Robert 
Cabeen, William Hawk, H. N. Bostwick, Samuel Allen, 
Edward Swain, James Harrison, John Bessonett. 

1834. Burgesses, William F. Swift, James R. Scott; 
High Constable, William Kinsey; Council, Robert Ca- 
been, John Bessonett, William Hawk, Samuel Allen, H. 
N. Bostwick, James Harrison, Edward Swain. 

1835. Burgesses, William Hawk, James R. Scott; 
High Constable, William Killingsworth ; Council, Sam- 
uel Allen, H. N. Bostwick, Eleazer Fenton, James Har- 
rison, Edward Swain, John Dorrance, William Kinsey. 

1836. Burgesses, William Kinsey, Benjamin Brown; 
High Constable, Timothy Stackhouse ; Council, Samuel 
Allen, James Harrison, Jonathan Adams, John Heiss, 
David Woodington, Gilbert Tomlinson, Robert 
Patterson. 

1837. ]]urgesses, William Kinsey, Joseph B. Pen- 



A HISTORY O^ BRISTOL BOROUGH. 361 

nington; High Constable, Lewis P. Kinsey; Council, 
Samuel Allen, James Brudon, David E. Woodington, 
Robert Patterson, Joseph F. Warner, William Killings- 
worth, William F. Swift. 

1838. Burgesses, William Hawk, Joseph B. Penning- 
ton; High Constable, John Feaster; Council, Charles W. 
Pierce, Robert Cabeen, Gilbert Tomlinson, John W. Van- 
degrift, Samuel Allen, John Dorrance, Isaac W. Hall. 

1839. Burgesses, William Hawk, Benjamin Blinn; 
High Constable, Robert Patterson ; Council, Samuel Al- 
len, John Dorrance, Robert Cabeen, James Irvine, James 
Johnson, John Johnson, James Brudon. 

1840. Burgesses, Charles Banes, Benjamin Blinn; 
High Constable, Robert Patterson ; Council, James John- 
son, John Wright, John Johnson, James Brudon, James 
Irvine, William Kinsey, Charles Smith. 

1841. Burgesses, Charles Banes, Benjamin Blinn; 
High Constable, Robert Patterson ; Council, James John- 
son, James Brudon, James Irvine, John Wright, William 
Kinsey, Andrew W. Gilkeson, James W. Weiss. 

1842. Burgesses, William Kinsey, Benjamin Blinn; 
High Constable, Robert Patterson ; Council, Lewis P. 
Kinsey, Andrew W. Gilkeson, John Dorrance, Benjamin 
Malone, H. N. Bostwick, Samuel Allen, James Brudon. 

1843. Burgesses, William Kinsey, Benjamin Blinn; 
High Constable, Joseph R. Hellings ; Council, Chester 
Sturdevant, Benjamin Ball, Andrew W. Gilkeson, Lewis 
P. Kinsey, James Brudon, Benjamin Malone. 

1844. Burgesses, William Kinsey, Benjamin Blinn ; 
Pligh Constable, Joseph R. Hellings ; Council, James 
Johnson, Andrew W. Gilkeson, Robert Patterson, John 
Wright, John Stewart, John K. Holt, Augustus Gerrard. 

1845. Burgesses, James Brudon, Benjamin Blinn; 
Pligh Constable, Charles Titus ; Council, Lewis P. Kin- 
sey, John Wright, John K. Holt, Andrew W. Gilkeson, 
Robert Patterson, Morton Righter, Jackson Gilkeson. 

1846. Burgesses, Benjamin Malone, Augustus Ger- 
rard ; High Constable, Charles Titus, Council, Andrew 
W. Gilkeson, William R. Phillips, Lewis P. Kinsey, An- 
thony Swain, Henrv M. Wright, Jackson Gilkeson, James 
Phillips. 



362 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

1847. Burgesses, Mahlon G. Hibbs, Augustus Ger- 
rard ; High Constable, Lemuel Nilly; Council, Andrew 
W. Gilkeson, Lewis P. Kinsey, John K. Holt, James Bru- 
don, Joseph Wright, Jackson Gilkeson, William Kinsey. 

1848. Burgesses, William Hawk, Charles Thompson: 
High Constable, Lemuel Nilly; Council, Anthony Swain, 
Samuel Allen, John Eastburn, William H. White, Louis 
A. Hoguet, George C. Johnson, Alexander Morrison. 

1849. Burgesses, Isaac Van Horn, Robert Patterson; 
High Constable, Charles Titus; Council, James Brudon, 
Andrew W. Gilkeson, John Wright, John Davis. John K. 
Holt, Lewis P. Kinsey, William Earley. 

1850. Burgesses, Daniel P. Forst, William H. White ; 
High Constable, Chilion W^ Higgs ; Council, John Dor- 
rance, William M. Downing, William Killingsworth. 
John W. Bray, Robert Booz, James Rue, Albert 
L. Packer. 

185 1. Burgess, Daniel P. Forst; High Constable, 
James Phillips ; Council, John Dorrance, John W. Bray, 
William M. Downing, Robert Booz, William Killings- 
worth, James Rue, A. L. Packer, William H. ^^^lite, L. 
A. Hoguet. 

1852. Burgess, William Kinsey; High Constable, 
Giles S. Winder ; Council, William Bache, John ^^^ Bray, 
William M. Downing, Edmund Lawrence, James Rue, 
Daniel Street, William H. White, Henry M. A\'right, 
Joseph Wright. 

1853. Burgess, William Kinsey; High Constable. 
Giles S. Winder; Council, Valentine Booz, Jesse AA". 
Knight, James W. Martin, Henry M. Wright, William 
Bache, Edmund Lawrence. Daniel Street, John vS. Kin- 
sey, John S. Brelsford. 

1854. Burgess, William Kinsey; High Constable, 
Giles S. Winder; Council, Samuel Allen, Valentine Booz, 
Jesse Wright, William M. Downing, W. H. White, John 
Vanzant, A. L. Packer, J. S. Brelsford, L. P. Kinsey. 

1855. Burgess, Daniel P. Forst; High Constable, Rob- 
ert Sanderson ; Council, James Rue, William Bache, W. 
H. White, Joseph S. Pierce, John Davis, John M. Brown. 
Charles W. Pierce, Jr., Nathan Taylor, Henrv M. 
Wright. 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 363 

1856. Burgess, Albert L. Packer; High Constable, 
Giles S. Winder; Council, William M. Downing, Valen- 
tine Booz, James Brudon, John S. Brelsford, Christian 
Sulger, John Vanzant, Nathan Gaskell, Thomas B. 
Bailey, Lewis M. Wharton. 

1857. Burgess, A. L. Packer; High Constable, John 
H. Smith; Council, William M. Downing, Valentine 
Booz, John Vanzant, James Brudon, Nathan Gaskell, 
Thomas B. Bailey, John S. Brelsford, Christian Sulger, 
Lewis M. Wharton. 

1858. Burgess, A. L. Packer; High Constable, Wil- 
liam Fine ; Council, Valentine Booz, James Brudon, Jacob 
McBrien, William K. Evans, A. J. Hibbs, L. M. Whar- 
ton, David Michener, H. L. Strong, John Dorrance. 

1859. Burgess, A. L. Packer; High Constable, Sam- 
uel Winder; Council, John Dorrance, James Brudon, 
Jacob McBrien, H. L. Strong, William K. Evans, David 
Michener, Thomas B. Bailey, W^illiam H. White, Lewis 
M. Wharton. 

i860. Burgess, A. L. Packer; High Constable, Samuel 
Winder; Council, John Dorrance, James Brudon, Jacob 
McBrien, James W. Martin, John S. Brelsford, Joseph M. 
Disborough, Robert Brooks, A. J. Hibbs, William K. 
Evans. 

1861. Burgess, James Brudon; High Constable, Wil- 
liam D. Fenton ; Council, James W. Martin, Henry M. 
Wright, William H. White, William B. Baker, John W. 
Bailey, Ellwood Doron, John D. Mendenhall, Jacob Mc- 
Brien. Lewis M. Wharton. 

1862. Burgess, Robert Patterson ; High, Constable 
John Taylor; Council, Jacob McBrien, Ellwood Doron, 
William H. White, John W. Bailey, Wesley M. Lee, 
Thomas B. Bailey, Charles G. Stout, William B. Baker, 
Lewis M. Wharton. 

1863. Burgess, Robert Patterson; High Constable, 
John Taylor; Council, Ellwood Doron, Jacob McBrien, 
Nathaniel Brodnax, James Brudon, Robert W. Brooks, 
Lewis M. Wharton, Charles G. Stout, William A. Stew- 
art, Wesley M. Lee, Timothy Stackhouse. 

1864. Burgess, Robert Patterson ; High Constable, 
John Taylor; Council, Thomas Scott, William Hawk, 



364 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Timothy Stackhouse, William B. Baker, William H. 
White, Wesley M. Lee, Ellwood Doron, Nathaniel Brod- 
nex, James Brudon, Robert W. Brooks. 

1865. Burgess, Robert Patterson; High Constable, 
Anthony D. Minster; Council, Robert W. Brooks, John 
W. Bailey, James Foster, John Taylor, Ellwood Doron, 
William B. Baker, Thomas Scott, W. W. Wliite, T. 
Stackhouse, William Hawk. 

1866. Burgess, Robert Patterson; High Constable, 
John Taylor ; Council, Robert W. Brooks, James V. Fos- 
ter, John W. Bailey, John Taylor, Ellwood Doron, James 
Brudon, Thomas Scott, Charles C. Douglass, Nathaniel 
Brodnax, T. Stackhouse. 

1867. Burgess, Ellwood Doron; High Constable, 
Reuben Pedrick ; Council, Dr. L. V. Rosseau, Dr. E. J. 
Groom, James W. Martin, Henry A. Bailey, J. Wesley 
Wright, James Brudon, Thomas Scott, Charles C. Doug-* 
lass, Nathaniel Brodnax, T. Stackhouse. 

1868. Burgess. Ellwood Doron ; High Constable, John 
A. W^orrell ; Council, Allen D. Garwood, Robert W. 
Brooks, James Brudon, Thomas B. Bailey, Charles C. 
Douglass. L. V. Rosseau, E. J. Groom, James W. Martin, 
Henry A. Bailey, J. Wesley Wright. 

1869. Burgess, Ellwood Doron; Council, John R. 
Green, Charles Pierce, Joseph Bailey, S. V. Rosseau, E. 
J. Groom, Charles C. Douglass, Allen D. Garwood, Rob- 
ert W. Brooks, James Brudon, Thomas B. Bailey. 

1870. Burgess, Ellwood Doron ; Council, John W. 
liailey, \Mlliam H. \Miite, Gilbert Green, John Taylor, J. 
Wesley Wright, John R. Green, Charles Pierce. Joseph 
Bailey, S. V. Rosseau, E. J. Groom. 

1871. Burgess, Symington Phillips; Council, Samuel 
Pike, Morton Walmesley, Charles Pierce, Joseph Bailey, 
James Brudon, John W. Bailey, W. H. White, Gilbert 
Green, John Taylor. J. Wesley Wright. 

1872. Burgess, Symington Phillips; Council, Albert L. 
Packer, T. S. Tomlinson, W. B. Baker, William Jones, J. 
^^'esley Wright, Samuel Pike, Morton Walmesley, 
Charles Pierce, Joseph Bailey, James Brudon. 

1873. P>urgess, Charles E. Scott; Council, S. S. Rue, 
C. W. Pierce, Tames M. Slack, David Stackhouse, Samuel 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 365 

Pike, A. L. Packer, I. S. Tomlinson, W. B. Baker, Wil- 
liam Jones, J. Wesley Wright. 

1874. Burgess, Charles E. Scott; Council, Morton A, 
Walmesley, A. L. Packer, Henry M. Wright, L. A. Hogu- 
et, J. Wesley Wright, S. S. Rue, C. W. Pierce, J. M. 
Slack, Samuel Pike, David Stackhouse. 

1875. Burgess, Charles E. Scott; Council, Charles W. 
Pierce, James M. Slack, Samuel Pike, S. S. Rue, Jona- 
than Wright, J. Wesley Wright, Henry M. Wright, L. A. 
Hoguet, A. L. Packer, Morton A. Walmesley. 

1876. Burgess, Charles E. Scott; Council, H. M. 
Wright, J. Wesley Wright, Charles York, Allen L. Gar- 
wood, Symington Phillips, C. W. Pierce, J. M. Slack, 
Samuel Pike, S. S. Rue, Jonathan Wright. 

1877. Burgess, James M. Slack; Council, H. M. 
Wright, Symington Phillips, A. L. Garwood, C. York, W. 
H. Booz, William Louderbough, Thomas B. Harkins, C. 
W. Pierce, S. S. Rue, J. W. Wright. 

1878. Burgess, James M. Slack; Council, C. W. Pierce, 
Symington Phillips, W. H. Booz, Charles York, Charles 
Scheide, S. S. Rue, H. M. Wright, Thomas B. Harkins, 
Charles Fenton, J. W. AVright. 

1879. Burgess, Allen L. Garwood; Council, L. A. 
Hoguet, W. H. Booz, R. W. Holt, C. W. Pierce, Jr., T. 
B. Harkins, Henry Sutch, C. H. Fenton, Symington Phil- 
lips, C. E. Scheide, H. M. Wright, J. W. Wright. 

1880. Burgess, Allen L. Garwood; Council, Charles 
E. Scheide, William H. Grundy, John S. Brelsford, James 
Wright, W. Taylor Potts, Michael Dougherty, L. A. 
Hoguet, W. H. Booz, R. W. Holt, C. W. Pierce, Jr., T. 
B. Harkins, Henry Sutch. 

1881. Burgess, J. Wesley Wright; Council, John S. 
Brelsford, W. H. Booz, M. Dougherty, William H. 
Grundy, R. W. Holt, L. A. Hoguet, William J. Jones, W. 
Taylor Potts, C. W. Pierce, Henry Rue, Charles E. 
Scheide, James Wright. 

1882. Burgess, T- Wesley Wright; Council, John Bur- 
ton, W. H. Booz, Nelson Green, R. W. Holt, L. A. Hogu- 
et, William J. Jones, James Lyndall, C. W. Pierce, Henry 
Rue, William Tabram, James Warden, James Wright. 

1883. Burgess, J. Wesley Wright; Council. Nelson 



366 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

Green, A. Hoeding, A. K. Joyce, James Lyndall, C. N. 
Pierce, G. A. Shoemaker, Joseph Sherman, William Tab- 
ram, James Warden, Jacob M. Winder, James Wright, 
John Burton. 

1884. Burgess, J. Wesley Wright; Council, G. A. 
Shoemaker, C. N. Pierce, A. K. Joyce, Joseph Sherman, 
A. Hoeding, J. M. Winder, James Wright, Nelson Green, 
W. S. Daniels, William Tabram, Thomas B. Harkins, A. 
Loechner. 

1885. Burgess, William H. Grundy; Council, Francis 
Fenimore, A. K. Joyce, C. N. Pierce, G. A. Shoemaker, C. 
H. Hoeding, R. W. Holt, James Wright, Nelson Green, 
W. Daniels, William Tabram, T. B. Harkins, A. 
Loechner. 

1886. Burgess, William H. Grundy; Council, W. S. 
Daniels, F. N. Booz, A. L. Garwood, R. S. Buseman, A. 
Loechner, James Wright, Francis Fenimore, A. K. Joyce, 
C. N. Pierce, G. A. Shoemaker, C. H. Hoeding, R. W. 
Holt. 

1887. Burgess, William H. Grundy; Council, Francis 
Fenimore, A. K. Joyce, G. A. Shoemaker, C. H. Brudon, 
Henry Rue, S. W. Black, W. S. Daniels, F. N. Booz, A. L. 
Garwood, R. S. Buseman, A. Loechner, James Wright. 

1888. Burgess, William H. Grundy; Council, George 
A. Shoemaker, A. K. Joyce, Samuel Black, Francis Feni- 
more, John Lumm, Harry Rue, Wm. R. Bailey, S. J. 
Sterling, C. F. Brudon, J. M. Callanan, James Wright, 
John F. Riley. 

1889. Burgess, Wm. P. Wright; Council, James 
Wright, J. M. Callanan, R. A. Porter, W. B. Baker, 
Henry Rue, A. K. Joyce, Peter Deihl, Wm. R. Bailey, 
Samuel Sterling, C. F. Brudon, John Lumm, John F. 
Riley. 

1890. Burgess, Wm. P. Wright; Council, James 
Wright, W. B. Baker, Peter Deihl, A. K. Joyce, Henry 
Rue, R. A. Porter, Anthony Bell, E. J. McCue, Robert 
Clark. J. T. Whitely, J. H. Kelly, G. L. Horn, Charles 
Strumfels, Lewis Spring, C. F. Brudon. 

1891. Burgess, Francis Fenimore; Council, Tames 
Wright, Anthony Bell, Robert Clark, J. N. DeGroot, 
Joseph R. Grundy, Frank Green, G. L. Horn, J. H. Kelly, 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 3^7 

Patrick Lyden, John C Maule E. J- McCue, G. W., 
Strausser, Lewis Spring, Charles Strumfels, J. T. White- 

Iv, Samuel Scott. ^ •, n u ^ 

i8Q2. Burgess, Francis Fenimore ; Council Robert 
Clark T N. DeGroot, Joseph R. Grundy, Frank Green, J. 
H Kelly, Patrick Lyden, John C. Maule, G.W. Strausser, 
Samuel'^Scott, Lewis Spring, J. T Whitely, James 
Wright, Peter Curran, Patrick McFadden, E. G. Smith, 
Dr. W.'P. Weaver. ■, t, u ^ 

1893. Burgess, Thos. B. Harkins ; Council Robert 
Clark R T. Fetrow, Joseph R. Grundy, J. H. Kelly, 
Tohn'c. Maule, Wm. Robinson, G. W. Strausser E. G. 
Smith, Lewis Spring, Samuel Scott^ Dr. W P^ Weaver 
John T. Whitely, James Wright, E. M. Wood, Patrick 
McFadden, Peter Curran. 

1804 Burgess, Thos. B. Harkins; Council, Janies 
Wright, Robert Clark, R. T. Fetrow, Joseph R. Grundy, 
T H Kelly, John C. Maule, J. R. Pearson, Wm Robin- 
son, Edward Roche, G. W. Strausser, E G. Sniith, Lewis 
Spring, Samuel Scott, J. T. Whitely, James Wright, E. 

M. Wood. ^ . T^ r^ T^ ^ ^ 

18QS Burgess, R. T. Buseman; Council, B. C. l^oster, 
Robert Clark, Samuel Milnor, Mahlon H. Moss, James 
McCarry. Wm. Robinson, Edward Roche^^ W F- .^c^ill, 
E G Smith. Lewis Spring, Samuel Scott, D. W. WiUmg- 
myre. Dr. W. P. Weaver, J. T. Whitely, James Wright, 
T T? "Pppf^on 

■ i8q6. Burgess, R. T. Buseman ; Council, B. C. Foster, 
P R Deihl, Owen Evans, R. T. Fetrow, Samuel Milnor, 
M H. Moss, James McCarry, W. F. Scull, E. G. Smith 
Samuel Scott, J. T. Whitely, James Wright, Edward 
Roche, John V. Kelly, A. K. Joyce, Wm. Robinson^ 

1807 Burgess, Benjamin S. Johnson; Council, Owen 
Evans, A. K. Joyce, R. T. Fetrow, John V. Kelly, Samue 
Milnor, Edward Roche, W. F. Scull, E. G. Smith, Samuel 
Scott, J. T. Whitely, James Wright, Thomas Scott, Den- 
nis A. Dugan, M. A. McCarry, Jr., Fred F. Collier, Fred 

■^1898 Benjamin S. Johnson, Burgess; Council, W. F. 
Scull Wm W. Allen, D. A. Dugan, Owen Evans, Frank 
Flum' John V. Kelly, Samuel Milnor, Fred Byers, Maur- 



368 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

ice McCiie, M. A. McCarry, Jr., Alfred Pearson, H. H. H. 
Poole, Samuel Scott. Thomas Scott, L. C. Wettling, 
James A\' right. 

1899. liurgess, Benjamin S. Johnson ; Council, W. F. 
Scull, W. W. Allen, J. B. Appleton, W. H. Butler, F. T. 
P)vers. T. A. Callahan, E. F. Ennis, W. K. Fine. Frank 
Fium, C. M. Guyon, E. A. Jeffries, Maurice McCue, Al- 
fred Pearson, H. H. H. Poole. James Wright, John V. 
Kelly. 

1900. Pjurgess, Edward L. Leigh; Council, W. F. 
Scull, W. W.' Allen, J. B. Appleton, W. H. Butler, E. F. 
Ennis, W. K. Fine, C. M. Guyon, J. B. Headley, E. A. 
Jeffries, M. Larrisey, T. J. McGinnis, G. A. Rathke, H. 
H. H. Poole, Albert Rothenberger, James Wright, J. A. 
Callahan. 

1901. Burgess, Edward L. Leigh; Council, W. F. 
Scull. W. W. Allen, W. H. Butler, J. A. Callahan. W. K. 
Fine, y. V. Headley, Edward Hoeding, M. Larrisey, J. 
M. Owens. H. H. H. Poole, G. A. Rathke, A. Rothen- 
berger, Edmund Spearing, James Wright, Tames Covle, 
T. J. McGinnis. 

1902. Burgess, Edward L. Leigh ; Council. W. F. 
Scull, W. H. Butler, J. A. Callahan, James Coyle, J. N. 
DeGroot, W. K. Fine, J. P. Gallagher, Edward Hoeding, 
E. McDonald. James Moore, J. M. Owens. H. H. H. 
Poole, G. A. Rathke, Edmund Spearing, James AVright, 
W. A. Girton. 

1903. Burgess, Dr. J. de B. Abbott; Council, J. H. 
Brooks, G. W. Buckley, J. J. Dugan, J. N. DeGroot, P. J. 
Dougherty, W. K. Fine, Frank Flum, W. A. Girton, J. P. 
Gallagher, Edward Hoeding, E. McDonald, James Moore, 
J. M. Owens. IP H. H. Poole, G. A. Rathke. James 
Wright. 

1904. Burgess, Dr. J. de B. Abbott; Council, J. M. 
Owens. G. W. Buckley, P. J. Dougherty, W. K. Fine, 
Frank Flum, W. A. Girton, Edward Hoeding, T. Hoff- 
man, W. K. Highland, James Moore, H. H. H. Poole, 
Albert Pepper, G. A. Rathke, James Sackville, James 
Wright, J. J. Dugan. 

1905. Burgess. Dr. J. de B. Abbott; Council, J. M. 
Owens. G. W. Buckley, C. L. Anderson, P. J. Dougherty, 



A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 369 

W K Highland, W. K. Fine, M. J. Fallon, Joseph R. 
Grundy, W. A. Girton, Thos. Hoffman, W. L. Johnson, 
J B. Keating-, James Moore, H. H. H. Poole, G. A. 
Rathke. James Sackville, Lewis Spring, James Wright, G. 
L. Williams, Dr. A. S. Wilson. 

1906 Burgess, William K. Highland; Council, C. L. 
Anderson, G.^W. Buckley, P. J. Dougherty, J. Dever, W. 
K Fine, M. J. Fallon. Joseph R. Grundy, Edward Hoed- 
ing, W.L. Johnson," J. B. Keating, J. J. Kilcoyne, J. B. 
McGee, J. M. Owen, G. A. Rathke, G. W. Strauser, 
Lewis "spring, James Wright, G. L. Williams, Dr. A. S. 
Wilson, Abram Wilson. 

1907. Burgess, William K. Highland; Council, J. M. 
Owen, J. de B. Abbott, P. J. Dougherty, James Wright, 
G L. Williams, C. L. Anderson, J. J. Kilcoyne, M. J. 
Fallon. J. R. Grundy, G. A. Rathke, Lewis Spring, Dr. 
A. S. Wilson, G. W. Strauser, Edward Hoeding, W. K. 
Fine. A. B. Wilson, C. E. Kelly, M. J. Sweeney, J. B. 
McGee, G. W. Buckley. 

1908. Burgess, William K. Highland; Council, J. M. 
Owen, C. L. Anderson, Geo. W. Buckley, P. J. Dougher- 
ty, M. J. Fallon, J. R. Grundy, Edward Hoeding, Thos. S. 
Harper, C. E. Kelly, J. J. Kilcoyne, J. B. McGee, Gustav 
A. Rathke, G. W. Strauser, Lewis Spring, M. J. Sween- 
ey, James Wright, G. L. Williams, A. B. Wilson, Peter 
McNelis, W. K. Fine. 

1909. Burgess, H. E. Ancker ; Council, J. M. Owen, 
T. de B. Abbott, G. W. Buckley, P. J. Dougherty, W. K. 
Fine, Edward Hoeding, R. B. King, C. G. Young, J. J. 
Kilcoyne, W. L Murphy, Peter McNelis. G. A. Rathke, 
G. W. Strauser, Lewis Spring, James Wright, G. L. Wil- 
liams, A. B. Wilson, J. R. Grundy, Dr. A .S. Wilson, M. 
J. Fallon. 

1910. H. E. Ancker, Burgess; Council. J. M. Owen, J. 
de B. Abbott, G. W. Buckley, James Wright, G. L. Wil- 
liams, J. J. Kilcoyne, T. E. Hoffman, J. R. Grundy, G. A. 
Rathke, Dr. A. S. Wilson. Lewis Spring, G. W. Straus- 
er, W. K. Fine, M. J. Fallon, Edward Hoeding, R. B. 
King, C. G. Young, A. B. Wilson, P. J. Dougherty, Den- 
nis J. Mulligan. 



370 A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH. 

191 1. Owing to the passage of a new election law by 
the State Legislature, which has done away with the 
Spring elections and provided for but one election in 
each year, to be held in November, at which time all offi- 
cers, whether of the Nation, State, County or Borough, 
shall be elected, all Borough officers holding office at the 
time the new act went into efifect, whose terms expired 
in 191 1, have had their terms extended to 1912. In con- 
sequence of this, the list of borough officers for 191 1 will 
be the same as 1910. 




M 70 89« 




^-M 



.-^^ 



















t * Oj 










>* .^^ 
























,>^ /.'i^l'%. f,C.*.C^,*°o >*\'J^.**_ 
• o' V^^\/. "°*^^'*o' V'^^V 





lECKMAN 

NDERY INC. 

^JUN 89 

^^ N. MANCHESTER, 



^Ov;, 






